


The Heart Is The Strongest Muscle

by Danistalley12



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-16 21:31:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3503456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danistalley12/pseuds/Danistalley12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke's promise to improve her life after a break up leads her to a nearby gym and a very beautiful brunette stranger. </p><p>Modern Day AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea kind of just popped up in my head the other day and I haven't been able to stop since. 
> 
> I haven't done any writing for a little while so please excuse the rust coming from the page! 
> 
> Let me know what you think.

 

Today was the day.

 

Today was the day that Clarke decided she would finally do the thing she had been putting off for a while.

 

Today was the day she was going to put the last chapter of her life to bed and start a new one.

 

She wanted her life back.

 

She wanted her heart back and she knew the only way for that to happen would be for her to completely let go.

 

She had broken up with Finn over 2 months ago after finding out that he was cheating on her with one of his colleagues.

 

They had only been together for 8 months but their relationship was steep and intense so she was pretty devastated when she walked into his apartment to surprise him only to find him in bed with her.

 

It took Clarke a little while to get over the pain, and she still felt it sometimes.

 

She felt angry about being made to look like a fool more than anything.

 

She was embarrassed.

 

She felt it shooting up her spine, making her stomach churn whenever something reminded her of Finn or what had happened.

 

Clarke inhaled deeply as she stood outside of the modest yet popular gym a few blocks from her apartment.

 

She gripped the duffle bag strap with both hands, needing something to hold onto as she counted a few times internally.

 

She hadn’t been to the gym in a while.

 

She still enjoyed going for a run outdoors when she could but between work and her relationship ending, she hadn’t really felt like getting up early in the morning and going to a place where she felt like she was being judged constantly.

 

She managed an art gallery that showcased up and coming artists, while being a freelance artist all at the same time so she felt like she didn’t need any judgment from any other source.

 

She counted to 3 one more time before nodding to herself quickly and taking a few quick steps towards the door.

 

Pushing the door open with little effort, she found her ears being greeted by loud, thumping music, the sounds of weights clanging together and footsteps.

 

The gym air smelt like cleaning products and sweat all mixed into one.

 

It was almost calming as scanned her gym membership pass before heading to the change rooms.

 

Clarke paused on her way out after changing to look into the mirror.

 

The corners of her lips curled into a very small smile as she looked over herself.

 

She was proud.

 

She was proud that she was doing something for herself; she wasn’t getting back into fitness to make Finn jealous or regret what he had done.

 

She was doing this for herself.

 

She had made the commitment to herself that she would try and better her health both physically and emotionally.

 

It was pretty early so she had no troubles getting a treadmill in her own area, drowning out the outside world as she put her headphones in and began to warm up with a jog.

 

About halfway through her cardio session, she suddenly felt as if all the air had been squeezed out of her lungs and all of her blood had rushed to her head.

 

Strangely enough, she had been feeling fine a moment ago and it wasn’t because of her fitness or her body at all.

 

It was because of a brown haired, green eyed, toned, beautiful girl who had walked past her treadmill and stopped once she reached the cable machine.

 

Her wavy brown hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail, with a headband holding some untamable strands out of her face.

 

To put it simply she was stunning.

 

She frowned at the machine as she concentrated on changing the weight before taking a deep breath and beginning her tricep pull downs.

 

Clarke had to remind herself that it was extremely impolite to stare at someone, let alone stare at them as intensely as she was.

 

Clarke cleared her throat quietly before finishing her cardio work out, her eyes following the brunette wherever she moved around the room.

 

Needless to say she found it easier to get up earlier in the morning the next day in hopes she might be able to spot the brunette once again.

 

And she was there.

 

She was there every morning that week that Clarke was.

 

Clarke knew it was probably considered stalking, her going to the gym to see if the other girl would be there and watching her get through her workouts.

 

The way Clarke saw it though was at least she was going to the gym every morning.

 

She was mostly there to work out herself anyway.

 

Mostly.

 

Clarke noticed the girl moved around the gym easily, knowing how to use all the machines, showing what looked like perfect technique but she mostly kept to herself.

 

She would nod a quick hello to those who would approached her but didn’t acknowledge anyone any further as she took her time seriously.

 

 ---                                                                                                

 

The next Monday, Clarke’s friend Octavia came to the gym with her, as she was impressed with her renewed attitude towards fitness.

 

“You know, I kind of thought you just made up you were coming in here and working out” Octavia admitted

 

“Thanks” Clarke said dryly as she started her bicep curls, counting silently in her head

 

“Yeah, I figured you came here and sat in your car” Octavia replied, stretching down to touch the floor for a moment

 

She began to say something else but Clarke didn’t hear it, she only heard Octavia fade into obscurity as she spotted her mystery brunette across from them, carrying her towel over her shoulder she made her way to the bench press.

 

Her hair was out today and it felt even more like a punch to the stomach to Clarke.

 

Her brown wavy locks fell perfectly as if it was effortless, like she just rolled out of bed but still looked perfect.

 

“I knew it!” She heard Octavia exclaim loudly behind her, bringing Clarke’s attention straight back to earth and away from the clouds

 

“What?” Clarke asked turning to her friend, her weights still in her hand

 

“That’s why you love the gym so much all of a sudden” Octavia said, a superior smirk playing on her features before she glanced to the girl Clarke had been eyeing “I mean she is pretty hot”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Clarke defended helplessly, shaking her head furiously

 

“Well personally I think it’s great motivation”

 

“You do?” Clarke quirked her eyebrow as she turned back to the mystery girl, who was in the middle of a heavy bench press set

 

“I mean it gets you to the gym” Octavia shrugged “So what’s her name?”

 

“Her name…” Clarke mumbled quietly

 

It would have been nice to know her name

 

“You haven’t spoken to her, have you?” Octavia chuckled

 

“Nope” Clarke replied shaking her head, her attention directed back to her friend once more “From what I have seen she isn’t much of a talker”

 

“Well maybe that’s just because you haven’t spoken to her” Octavia shrugged “I’m all for it, the quicker you get over Finn the better”

 

“I’m over him” Clarke snapped

 

“I’m sure she would help you get over him faster though” Octavia retorted as she glanced to the brunette who was holding her gaze on Clarke momentarily before looking away “And I think maybe she might have noticed you before too”

 

“She was probably just looking at you”

 

“I’m pretty sure she was looking at you” Octavia said cooly “Though I didn’t know whether she wanted to murder you or whether she just wanted to say hi. I’m kind of getting the impression that she’s pretty intense”

 

Clarke just shrugged as she continued her next set of curls as if hearing the brunette was looking at her didn’t affect her.

 

It did though.

 

The next few days were extremely busy for Clarke.

 

She was preparing for a huge showcase being held at the gallery in a few months’ time but also trying finish a few pieces of her own.

 

She hadn’t been able to get to the gym for a few days but she found herself warming up on the treadmill late one night after work.

 

She needed to clear her head and she thought it might help with her paintings if she went back to her apartment with a fresh mind.

 

The gym was pretty empty; it was 9pm so by the time she had started a lot of people were on their way out the door.

 

Her pace was slow, her heart rate steady but building as she prepared herself for her designated leg day.

 

Then it hit her.

 

She was there. Again.

 

She stood, leaning against the wall with a clipboard in her hands and a pen in her mouth.

 

She furrowed her brows as she chewed the end of the pen, clearly reading something that was puzzling her.

 

Her eyes glanced up to meet Clarke’s gaze and she could have sworn she saw a small smile reach her lips as she pulled the pen from her mouth.

 

Her green eyes were locked on Clarke’s blue ones and Clarke felt the world shift beneath her.

 

She hadn’t been watching.

 

Clarke knew she should have been watching.

 

She was coordinated but sometimes she just had bad luck and now was one of those times when the world decided to mess up her day just a little more.

 

Clarke hit the floor hard, coming off the treadmill and landing on her back.

 

Hair covered her eyes as she looked up to the ceiling, her body aching and in shock from what just happened.

 

The next thing she knew, a shadow was kneeling down next to her, a mass of brown wavy hair hovered over her as she groaned.

 

Both from the pain but also awkwardness upon realizing just who exactly it was above her trying to coax her out of her shocked state.

 

“Hey, you okay?” She heard a cool, smooth voice ask as she felt her hair being cleared from her face gently

 

“I’m fine” Clarke groaned

 

“You took a tumble” She replied as she was clearly biting her cheek to hold back a chuckle but Clarke saw emotion in her eyes and that was enough to prove she thought it was funny “Come on, I’ll take you out the back and we’ll get you cleaned up”

 

“I’m fine”

 

She pushed herself up to a sitting position; the brunette had backed away as Clarke moved.

 

As if she had almost startled her with the sudden movement.

 

Clarke quickly noted the few scrapes on her legs and her hands but other than a bruised ego, she felt like she would survive.

 

“We need to get you patched up and clean those grazes” She said shaking her head as she stood, offering Clarke a hand

 

Clarke took it, feeling herself being pulled up effortlessly by the other girl.

 

Her hand was soft in her own, warm and welcoming which was a contrast to her usual expression.

 

Clarke didn’t understand.

 

She didn’t understand how a stranger could make her feel like she had lost all orientation and feeling in her body.

 

She didn’t understand how this stranger could affect her like no one had ever before with just a _look_.

 

“I’m fine…really” Clarke said as she wiped her palms on her pants with a small sting “Just mortified”

 

“I kind of need you to come back there so I can apply first aid. I’m the only one on tonight and I have a duty of care over you” She replied quietly, her head dipping slightly to catch Clarke’s gaze “And also, you would be surprised how many people have fallen off treadmills”

 

“Have you?”

 

“No” She said simply, a sarcastic chuckle filled the air before she began walking towards the back of the gym “Follow me treadmill girl”

 

“Should you be teasing a client that just fell off the treadmill?” Clarke responded as she began following the other girl after a short pause

 

“You’re a gym member but you’re not my personal client” She shot back over her shoulder “You seem to be fine and my night was dragging so I need to have some kind of fun”

 

“So teasing me is your fun?” Clarke replied as the other girl opened the door to the neat office, allowing her to enter first

 

“If you had seen that, you would have laughed too” She explained with a smirk as she gestured for Clarke to sit down on the desk “You really should pay more attention to what you are doing rather than distracting yourself”

 

“Noted” Clarke grumbled to herself

 

“I guess that’s what happens though when you come in at a different time and break your routine”

 

“I’m sorry?”

 

“You usually come in during the mornings” She replied as she pulled out a first aid kit from under the desk, opening it up to find alcohol wipes and small bandages “I haven’t seen you around in the mornings lately so you were breaking your routine”

 

“How do you know that I come in during the mornings?” Clarke asked raising her eyebrows

 

“I work out in the mornings too, get a jump start on my day before my shift” She said with a shrug, taking the alcohol wipe and applying it gently to Clarke’s knees “I’ve seen you in here with Lincoln’s girlfriend too”

 

‘Of course’ Clarke thought

 

Lincoln was a new personal trainer at that gym

 

“Yeah, it’s the only time when I really get the chance to come in” Clarke replied simply as she felt the sting of the alcohol wipe against her grazes

 

“Well I definitely think it’s the best time of day” She replied with a nod

 

She worked quickly and efficiently to patch Clarke up before scrunching the bandage wrappers in her hands loudly, her eyes flickering up to meet Clarke’s as she realized she was standing closer to the blonde than she thought.

 

“Right” She said clearing her throat, taking two steps back for good measure “You sure you’re okay?”

 

“Yeah, thank you” Clarke nodded

 

“Any time” She nodded as well, clenching her jaw tightly “Don’t fall off the treadmill again though please. I’m going to have to write up an incident report now”

 

“For that reason and that reason only, I will try not to” Clarke responded sarcastically but she was rewarded with a small, barely there (but definitely there) smile

 

“Maybe I will see you around treadmill girl” She said sweeping a loose strand of her hair behind her ear

 

\---

 

Like she had thought, her work kept her away from the gym over the next few days much to her dismay.

 

Clarke just couldn’t get there in time and when she finally got home, she only had the energy to sleep let alone paint or sketch like she should have been doing.

 

Thursday morning she set her alarm for 4:30, cursing her phone as the annoying tune woke her from her slumber.

 

To her credit though she rose from her bed almost immediately and changed for the gym.

 

She walked into the gym half asleep still.

 

Her hair in a messy bun up the top of her head and her gym outfit was anything by coordinated.

 

“I’m glad to see your treadmill incident didn’t stop you from coming back” She heard from behind her but she didn’t need to turn around as she found a smirking brunette in front of her a moment later

 

She was wearing the same blue shirt as the other night, Clarke assumed it was her personal trainer uniform but never knew how the girl pulled off the plain blue polo so well.

 

She looked impossibly awake and impossibly beautiful for that time in the morning. She looked so good that it made Clarke jealous of how she could pull off her natural look so effortlessly

 

“I haven’t seen you around for a few days so I thought you might have been scared off” She replied gesturing to the treadmill “Or in therapy”

 

“No I’m fine” Clarke chuckled, her amusement rewarded with a shy smile “Almost all healed up”

 

“Well just make sure you concentrate on what you are doing” She said “If you fall over again I might think you are just trying to get attention”

 

“You might think that” Clarke responded sarcastically “You’re working this morning?”

 

“Yeah, I have an early morning client today. I try and be flexible”

 

“I see” Clarke nodded, panicking in her head as she felt an almost awkward silence fall upon them “I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble with the incident report”

 

“It was pretty easy. Girl fell off treadmill, staff member on duty applied efficient but excellent first aid”

 

“Sounds complex” Clarke laughed

 

“Really stressful stuff” She nodded before looking over Clarke’s shoulder to wave at an older lady “My client”

 

“Well you better go then” Clarke nodded

 

“Have a good work out Clarke, I’ll check up on you later to make sure you’re in one piece”

 

Clarke could have sworn she saw her green eyes flicker to her lips for a moment as she slowly backed away with a knowing smirk on her features.

 

Clarke swallowed thickly.

 

She felt a lump in her throat as she watched her take a few more steps away from her before something clicked

 

“Wait, you know my name?”

 

“I might have abused my power a little and looked you up on our membership system” She said with a shrug “But only so I could flag a treadmill hazard against your name”

 

“Oh great” Clarke rubbed her eyes quickly as she sighed “Well seeing as you know my name, can I find out yours? You know, seeing as you helped me and all”

 

“It’s only fair seeing as I know yours” She offered “I’m Lexa and it is very nice to formally meet you Clarke”

 

With that, she turned around as her client followed her out to the other side of the gym to begin their session.

 

Lexa.

 

Clarke looked to the treadmill and silently thanked it for making her trip. At least that way she had met the girl she had been eyeing for a few weeks previously.

 

She was beautiful.

 

She was witty.

 

She was still a mystery but at least she knew her name.

 

Her name was Lexa.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully no one minds that this chapter is massive. Let me know what you think :)

After what felt like the best day in a long time, Clarke had the worst day in a very long time.

 

She woke up the very next day feeling sicker than she ever had before.

 

Unfortunately there was a flu going around and Clarke felt like she had caught the worst version of it.

 

Thankfully her parents were doctors so she knew all of the best tricks and remedies to get rid of her flu and in a matter of days, she starting to get over it.

 

It was early Tuesday morning and Clarke hadn’t been able to stop thinking of Lexa ever since she left the gym that day.

 

She wondered whether Lexa might have noticed her absence or if she would even care.

 

Her question was answered when she walked into the gym to see the trainer with a client on the leg press machine.

 

Her eyes glanced to Clarke straight away, doing a double take as a small smile appeared on her face.

 

Her eyes sparkling, even from a distance.

 

That was until Clarke’s best friend Bellamy threw his arm loosely around her shoulder with a giant grin on his face.

 

“Octavia was right” Bellamy said nodding “She is so hot”

 

“That’s the only reason why you came today?” Clarke looked to her friend, who was scanning the gym

 

“Well that and to see what other girls I can meet here” Bellamy shrugged before he let go of Clarke and went to grab a towel for them both

 

Clarke’s eyes shot back over to Lexa whose expression had changed within an instant.

 

Her lips were pursed, her jaw was clenched tightly and her brows were creased.

 

Lexa looked terrifying but Clarke decided to leave it and she would say hello to her once she was finished with her client.

 

\---

 

An hour later Clarke had just finished her set of squats when she saw Lexa by the towel rack, folding freshly washed towels for clients to use.

 

“So this is a skill trainers have to develop?” Clarke asked as she stopped in front of the brunette

 

Lexa didn’t stop what she was doing, she didn’t even look up from the towel she was folding with little effort and that made Clarke anxious.

 

“Early shift again?” Clarke questioned

 

“Yes” Lexa grumbled lowly

 

“Do you work with a lot of clients?”

 

“Do you need something, Clarke?” Lexa snapped impatiently as she finally looked up to meet her eyes but all Clarke could see was aggravation

 

“I…I just wanted to say hi” Clarke stumbled “I haven’t been in for a few days so I just wanted to say hi but I guess you don’t”

 

“I’m working” Lexa replied sharply as she folded her last towel “Besides, it looks like your boyfriend needs your help. He’s struggling with his deadlifts. He’s going to injure himself if he doesn’t suck up his ego and lessen his weight"

 

Clarke turned to Bellamy to see he was indeed struggling but by the time she turned back to say something to Lexa, she had walked away leaving Clarke completely clueless as to what was going on.

 

“That didn’t look too friendly” Bellamy said as he bent down to lift his barbell

 

“I don’t know what that was” Clarke replied shaking her head “I actually have no idea what just happened”

 

“She is hot but man, she looks like she wants to punch someone” Bellamy mumbled

 

“You’re trying to lift too much. Lexa’s right, you’ll hurt yourself” Clarke nodded as she folded her arms in front of Bellamy

 

“I think I know my limits and I know I can lift this” he said as he began to lift before pausing “I think I just pulled a muscle”

 

Clarke rolled her eyes, she tried finishing her work out but she was more interested in seeing Lexa and finding out what was going on.

 

She told Bellamy she had to get to work before walking out to the gym reception, where she found Lexa standing by the front desk with her hand pinching the bridge of her nose and her eyes closed tightly

 

“You were right about Bellamy; he was lifting too much weight”

 

“I know” Lexa replied simply as she opened her eyes to meet Clarke’s as she walked past the desk

 

“But you were wrong about him, Bellamy isn’t my boyfriend” She said, scanning her membership card out before pushing the doors open harshly, letting the morning air fill her lungs

 

Clarke didn’t look back to Lexa.

 

If she had though she would have noticed Lexa’s expression immediatley soften with regret and a heavy sigh leave her mouth as she watched the other girl walk away.

 

___

 

Clarke reluctantly went back early the next day.

 

When she scanned the unusually busy gym she couldn’t find Lexa anywhere.

 

She was kind of happy about that seeing as yesterday was a little weird but she felt a disappointment settle in her stomach as she began her warm up.

 

Sometime during her session she turned around to find the brunette trainer standing behind her, with a small paper bag in her hands and an awkward smile on her face

 

“Hi” Lexa offered quietly

 

“Hey” Clarke responded, folding her arms close to her chest defensively

 

“So I’m really sorry” Lexa shaking her head “Yesterday was extremely unprofessional of me and I hope you can forgive me”

 

“Well actually, you gave Bellamy some pretty good professional advice and he did injure himself because he didn’t listen” Clarke replied with a shrug, trying not to respond to the butterflies that were beginning to form in the pit of her stomach and the way Lexa’s eyes twinkled when she talked to her

 

“I mean how I acted towards you” Lexa said quickly before she exhaled “I was really unprofessional but I was also just really harsh and I’m sorry because you didn’t deserve that. I had a really bad day yesterday, really bad but that doesn’t make it okay”

 

“Your day was that bad, that early in the morning?” Clarke raised her eyebrows

 

“My car wouldn’t start, my glasses broke, I spilt my coffee all over my desk and I dropped my phone” Lexa listed “All before 6am so things really weren’t going my way”

 

“Wow, that is pretty rough” Clarke nodded, finding her arms dropping to her sides, her hands joining in front of her”

 

“I made you a peace offering” Lexa replied as she held out the crumpled paper bag for Clarke to accept but Clarke didn’t, she just looked at it “It’s just a protein slice that I make. I thought you might like it”

 

“Really?” Clarke asked with a small smile as she finally took the bag

 

“I know, it’s pretty stupid but it’s actually really good” Lexa assured the other girl before she paused, taking her hand to the back of her neck to rub it awkwardly “And seeing as my shift doesn’t start until this afternoon, I thought maybe…and forgive me if I am overstepping boundaries here but I thought I could buy you a coffee to make up for it? If you have the time”

 

Clarke couldn’t do anything but laugh to herself quietly, seeing Lexa standing in front of her so awkwardly and so unsure of herself was pretty amusing but endearing at the same time.

 

“Yeah, I have some time” Clarke nodded

 

“Great” Lexa grinned, taking a step backward from the blonde girl “Okay so you finish your work out, take your time and I’ll be out at near reception so just come and find me”

 

“Okay” Clarke nodded as her smile grew, looking down at the crumpled bag in her hand

 

Clarke tried not to hurry through her work out but for the second day in a row, all she could think about was Lexa.

 

True to her word she found the other girl sitting in reception with a clipboard on her lap, glasses on and one hand playing with a strand of her hair

 

“Your glasses are really crooked” Clarke observed as she looked down at the girl in front of her

 

Lexa looked up to Clarke with a soft smile on her face and an awkward shrug

 

“I told you I broke them”

 

“I can see that” She chuckled and was pleasantly surprised when she heard a laugh escape from Lexa’s mouth

 

They walked to the coffee shop next door, Lexa insisted she buy Clarke her coffee to make up for yesterday and Clarke didn’t decline.

 

Everyone seemed to know Lexa in the modest coffee shop, sharing small jokes or making comments to her as she placed their order.

 

“You come here a lot I’m guessing?” Clarke asked as Lexa sat down across from her

 

“Well I need to get my morning coffee somewhere before I deal with people so this place is pretty perfect” Lexa shrugged, resting her hands out on front of her on the table “Have you been here before?”

 

“I haven’t actually”

 

“Well I’m glad I forced you to get coffee with me then, it’s great here” She responded leaning back in her seat “So Clarke, tell me about yourself”

 

“What do you want to know?” Clarke asked raising her eyebrows

 

“How much time do you have?” Lexa challenged quickly with a soft smirk

 

“Well at the moment I work at an art gallery, I manage it actually but I really consider myself a freelance artist” Clarke shrugged “The gallery is something I hope will help me get my break, it’s gotten my foot in the door at the very least”

 

“An artist, huh?” Lexa nodded “Well that’s pretty cool, I don’t know many artists”

 

“Well that doesn’t surprise me” Clarke shrugged

 

“And what does that mean?” Lexa questioned quickly but playfully

 

“I just mean that it wouldn’t surprise me because you would run in different circles. You know, the whole fitness industry and the arts don’t really mesh”

 

“First of all Clarke, I don’t run in circles and second of all I disagree” She offered simply “It obviously keeps you busy?”

 

“I’m trying to organize a huge showcase at the moment and it’s not leaving me much time for anything else” Clarke nodded

 

“Is that why you haven’t been in the gym for the past few days?” Lexa questioned in a way that made Clarke pause.

 

She _did_ notice

 

“Actually I had the flu” Clarke shook her head “A pretty bad case”

 

“Well I’m glad to see you back on your feet” Lexa replied with a brief nod

 

“How long have you been working at the gym for?”

 

Just as she asked the question a waitress placed their coffee’s in front of them, earning a quiet thank you from both of the girls but Lexa’s eyes held Clarke’s the entire time.

 

“I’ve been there for about 6 months, I’ve worked at other gyms before but they needed a manager so I decided to try my luck at that” Lexa shrugged “I do private training outside of the gym if need so business is pretty good right now”

 

“Well the gym always seems to be busy”

 

“You were at another gym before you came to this this one?”

 

“Yeah I was” Clarke replied, leaning forward slightly “But how did you know that?”

 

“You know how to use all the machines” Lexa shrugged innocently before taking a sip of her hot coffee

 

“Did you get your car fixed from yesterday?”

 

“Yeah but it was extremely expensive so it looks like I will be picking up a few extra shifts over the next few weeks” Lexa shook her head “Again, I’m sorry about yesterday. I felt awful about it all day”

 

“It’s fine, honestly”

 

“So if that guy wasn’t your boyfriend, who was he?” Lexa asked curiously, eyeing Clarke as she almost choked on her coffee.

 

Clearing her throat before she could answer

 

“He’s actually Octavia’s brother, the girl dating Lincoln”

 

She saw Lexa nod, taking another sip of her coffee all the while still peering at Clarke.

 

Silently imploring Clarke to continue with her explanation

 

“He’s one of my best friends, I’ve known him since I was little. We’ve grown up together”

 

“I’ve seen him around the gym before, his technique isn’t great but he is improving” Lexa said in a dull tone, pretending not to care what she was saying

 

“I’ll tell him you said that” Clarke chuckled with a shake of her head

 

\---

 

Over the next few weeks they began to make getting a morning coffee together a habit.

 

Clarke found herself clearing her schedule in the morning more than usual just so she could have a decent sit down conversation with the trainer.

 

Things kind of just flowed between them and it almost seemed like a natural progression that they were hanging out more.

 

To Clarke, Lexa was extremely genuine.

 

She let you know what she thought and wouldn’t sugar coat anything, which Clarke really appreciated.

 

She was honest, encouraging, challenging, sarcastic and someone Clarke found herself wanting to spend more time with the more she found out about the other girl and it seemed that Lexa felt the same way.

 

Sometimes Lexa wasn’t a woman of many words and Clarke was learning that pretty quickly.

 

She was also learning that Lexa tended to let her actions speak for her when she couldn’t find words.

 

It was a simple smile or gesture that signified to Clarke what she was feeling.

 

They had grown so comfortable with each other that sometimes they would go and have coffee but hardly talk; they would just work on their own individual projects.

 

Clarke was caught looking at Lexa occasionally as she sat with her pen in her mouth and a small frown on her face while she concentrated.

 

As soon as Lexa caught her gaze though her expression would soften immediately and a small smile would appear on her face before she scolded Clarke playfully to continue her work.

 

Sooner than she knew, it was the day of Clarke’s showcase.

 

Needless to say it was a big day.

 

Clarke had spent months preparing for this and it needed to go off without a hitch.

 

Clarke had also managed to finally have herself included as a last minute addition to the showcase.

 

She had earned the opportunity to display some of her best work in the hopes that people might be interested enough in her work to buy a few things or set up other showings.

 

Clarke had been working towards having her stuff showcased for a while at one of her art galleries events.

 

She always thought people would just assume she was only showing her work because she was the manager there.

 

Only that couldn’t have been further from the truth because she had to work twice as hard as anyone to get the opportunity due to that fact.

 

Once she explained to Lexa the complicated application process, she encouraged Clarke to submit her work to the critics that decided the selection of artists.

 

Clarke walked into the gym with a spring in her step, she really had no time to be there but she wanted to find Lexa and tell her in person.

 

She also clutched a small invitation in her hand nervously, hoping she could convince herself to ask Lexa to come.

 

“And what are you doing here this morning?” She heard a familiar voice behind her, making her heart leap into her throat immediately as she turned around to see Lexa in her work out gear with a towel over her shoulder

 

“I got accepted as an artist in the showcase tonight” Clarke blurted with a wide smile on her face “My submissions were accepted last minute”

 

“I’m not surprised at all, that is awesome Clarke” Lexa said with a rare wide smile before reaching out to hug Clarke quickly “Congratulations”

 

“Thanks” Clarke said as she felt a blush creep up on her cheeks as Lexa pulled away

 

“Sorry, you probably don’t want to hug me too much” Lexa said taking a quick step back from the other girl “I’m really gross right now”

 

“That’s clearly impossible” Clarke replied with a shrug and this time it was on Lexa’s cheeks that a blush appeared before she cleared her throat

 

“And you came here just to tell me that?”

 

“Actually I came to give you this” Clarke shook her head as she bravely held out the invitation for Lexa to take, which she did without hesitation “I was hoping you’d be able to come tonight”

 

“Wow, really?” She asked as she looked at the invitation closely before looking back to Clarke “I would love to but I have a lot of clients backed up this afternoon and tonight”

 

“Oh. Yeah of course”

 

Clarke tried not to show it but she wasn’t sure if she had managed to keep the look of disappointment off her face.

 

She should have known that if Lexa was working out in the morning, she would probably have clients that night.

 

It was a last minute thing as well so she didn’t know why she expected Lexa would be able to come.

 

“I’m so sorry Clarke” Lexa said quietly with sincerity as she ducked her head to try and catch Clarke’s gaze as it rested on her feet “But I want to hear all about it”

 

“I will make sure I tell you everything” Clarke nodded as she looked up once again to see the softest expression on Lexa’s face she had ever seen.

 

She could see she was even more disappointed than Clarke probably was, if that was possible but she understood she had to work.

 

“Do you mind if I hold onto this?” Lexa asked holding the invitation up near her face “To keep”

 

“If you want” Clarke nodded as she felt her phone vibrate in her other hand

 

“You get that, it’s probably important”

 

“I should get going anyway, I just wanted to come by and give that to you” Clarke’s eyes flickered down to her phone ringing before returning to hold Lexa’s gaze

 

“I’m so sorry Clarke” Lexa said shaking her head “I promise I will find a way to make it up to you”

 

“No, it’s fine” Clarke said waving her off “You have to work, I get that”

 

“But I’ll call you tomorrow and you can tell me all about it?” Lexa offered weakly

 

“Sounds great”

 

“Good luck, it’ll be great” Lexa nodded firmly “You will be great and people are going to love your stuff. You deserve this and I know you’ll take full advantage of the opportunity”

 

Lexa had a way of instilling a confidence in Clarke, one that never wavered and she had no idea how she did it.

 

Lexa motivated people for a living, it was her job but Clarke was always amazing at how effortlessly she could do it.

 

There was something about Lexa that made people, Clarke included, want to listen to her.

 

\---

 

The rest of the day was beyond a blur for Clarke and things only seemed to speed up as the event started.

 

There were so many different people in the studio from critics to artists, friends and colleagues to potential clients.

 

Thankfully her colleagues at the gallery managed to keep everything under control for her as she stayed by her display, which to her surprise was attracting considerable attention.

 

Clarke took a moment to stand by her collection, looking at her work with a proud smile.

 

“You are pretty talented for a girl who can’t even handle a treadmill”

 

Clarke paused, she knew that voice.

 

She knew it anywhere.

 

Clarke turned her head to look beside her, finding a grinning Lexa standing next to her with her hands on her hips as she viewed the paintings.

 

Clarke was stunned; not only by her just being there but by how beautiful she looked.

 

She was wearing tight denim jeans with a sleeveless loose black button shirt with up her wavy hair fell perfectly as per usual.

 

Clarke had to clear her head as her eyes caught sight of Lexa’s toned arms and perfect shoulders so she could look to her properly instead of just staring.

 

“You came”

 

She didn’t know what she was doing until she had Lexa’s body pressed firmly against her, her arms wrapping around Lexa’s waist tightly in a hug.

 

Clarke felt Lexa’s body shake with a chuckle before her own arms wrapped around Clarke’s back tightly, embracing the blonde girl who had already decided a hug was a good idea.

 

She pulled back from the hug, still not sure if the other girl was actually there or not.

 

“What are you doing here?” Clarke asked as she didn’t even try to contain the huge grin over her lips

 

“Did you really think I was going to miss this? I had someone else cover my clients tonight” Lexa shrugged

 

“Thank you” Clarke said honestly as she shook her head “I’m really glad you could come”

 

“Me too, this whole showcase is awesome” Lexa said looking around “I mean I don’t know much about art but it looks like people are really enjoying themselves. I might be bias and I haven’t had a look at everything but Ihave to say, your paintings are definitely the best”

 

“You might be bias?” Clarke quirked an eyebrow

 

“I’m definitely bias” Lexa corrected herself with a small smile “But for good reason, they’re awesome”

 

“Thank you” Clarke said with a sigh of relief “I think this is the first time tonight I have been able to step back and breathe”

 

“I’m sure you are doing a great job” Lexa nodded as she looked around once more “So I’m going to leave you be, let you network and whatever you need to do but I’ll come and find you later”

 

“You sure?” Clarke asked

 

“Yeah, I saw Lincoln on the way in so I’ll just go and third wheel it for a while and see if I can pick up some art knowledge while I’m here” Lexa said with a small smile “But if I can help somehow just let me know”

 

“Thank you Lexa, that really means a lot”

 

“Don’t get soft on me now” Lexa winked to Clarke before walking away.

 

Lexa was there for _her_.

 

For Clarke.

 

\---

 

Clarke didn’t see Lexa for the rest of the night until the showcase was over.

 

It was hugely successful for the gallery but also for Clarke herself.

 

5 of her paintings were sold and she had enquiries from other potential clients about personalized pieces of art they were interested in having made.

 

And although it was late, Lexa stayed back with Clarke using the excuse that ‘she had nowhere else to be’ to justify her volunteering to help pack up her paintings.

 

“So you sold 5 paintings” Lexa said as she looked over the list of sold items, matching them with the paintings she had help wrap

 

“You really didn’t need to stay back and help. I mean I really appreciate it but you can leave whenever you want if you are bored” Clarke said as she packed up her area

 

“Who said I was bored?”

 

“Well we only have one more painting to wrap and then we can get out of here” Clarke shrugged

 

“In that case, you don’t need to wrap my painting” Lexa replied casually as she looked at the last painting sitting out “It doesn’t need to be wrapped, does it?”

 

“Your painting?” Clarke paused

 

“I might have bought that painting” Lexa shrugged before she quickly continued with her hands held up defensively “And not because I felt I needed to or anything, I mean clearly you didn’t need any pity purchases. I wanted an original Clarke Griffin painting. You know, before you become a huge artist and your paintings get extremely expensive and unaffordable for a personal trainer”

 

“Lexa…” Clarke mumbled as any other word failed to leave her mouth

 

“Don’t be too flattered, I just needed something to fill wall space in my office” The brunette defended with a shrug, she had a habit of trying to deflect a serious or emotional moment with sarcasm or dry wit but Clarke knew better than that

 

“Nope, I see right through your tough act” Clarke admitted

 

“I can assure you my toughness is not an act” Lexa replied quickly with her chest puffed out but her full eyes and small smile disagreed

 

“I just realized I haven’t eaten tonight” Clarke said as she glanced at a clock in the gallery “Know any places open this time of night?”

 

“I do actually, and it’s not too far away” Lexa nodded “Open 24 hours”

 

They soon finished packing up Clarke’s paintings, Lexa quickly stopping at her car to drop her new painting before walking to a small, rustic café a block away from the gallery.

 

They sat down in the still crowded restaurant, Lexa finding a booth in the corner of the room where it was quiet enough that they could talk without straining their ears but still had the restaurant atmosphere around them.

 

Clarke’s gaze shifted around the room.

 

It was late but there were still so many people out.

 

She had been so busy over the past few months that she had almost forgotten what it was like to have an active social life or what it was like to be out at that hour.

 

She looked back to Lexa who was looking directly at her.

 

Her gaze was soft and held her own, not breaking until Clarke looked down at the menu in front of her

 

“How does it feel now that your showcase is done?” Lexa asked quietly

 

“Awesome” Clarke replied with a sigh “There’s a huge weight off my shoulders right now”

 

“You did a really great job, everyone was enjoying themselves”

 

“Did you?”

 

“Well Lincoln and Octavia do not understand the meaning of privacy because there were hands everywhere on each other but I had a great time thank you” Lexa nodded “I even learnt a few things”

 

“Thank you again for buying that painting, you didn’t need to do that” Clarke’s gaze shifted again to meet Lexa’s

 

“I spotted it as soon as I walked in” Lexa admitted with a shrug “I might not know much about it all but it’s a really beautiful painting”

 

“I was really happy to see you” Clarke confessed

 

“Well like I said before, I wasn’t about to miss it and I thought I deserved a night off. I have been working for 14 days straight” Lexa explained as her arms folded in front of her and her elbows rested on the table

 

“14 days?”

 

“It’s been busy, one of the trainers just left so I’ve picked up a few more clients”

 

A waitress came over to take their order, making Clarke aware that she hadn’t even bothered to look at the menu because she was too busy looking at Lexa.

 

Lexa smirked as Clarke rushed to find something in a hurry so she made a suggestion and Clarke decided to just trust Lexa and go with it.

 

The waitress smiled politely at them both after taking their order and disappearing as quickly as she had appeared.

 

“Are you working tomorrow?” Clarke question, taking a glance down at Lexa’s hands as she laced her fingers together and toyed with her thumbs distractedly

 

“No, I’ve got tomorrow off because my parents are in town so I’ll be hanging with the folks”

 

“Oh cool, so they don’t live in town?”

 

“No, my dad is in the military so he’s posted somewhere else for now” Lexa explained with a small shrug “They’ll probably move back once he retires eventually but he’s a commander so he’s at a base in Texas right now”

 

“An army brat, huh?” Clarke smiled

 

“I don’t know about brat” Lexa replied quickly, her smile widening “But yeah, needless to say my room was always spotless growing up”

 

“Did you ever think about going into the army?” Clarke asked

 

“My dad wanted me to” Lexa nodded “I actually got accepted into this pretty elite military school after going through a few weeks of testing. My dad really wanted me to do it but my heart wasn’t in it. I know it sounds stupid but I love helping people achieve goals that they thought they might not have been able to. I love helping people achieve a happier and healthier lifestyle so I knew what I wanted and the military just wasn’t that”

 

“You could have been a Commander” Clarke smirked “Commander Lexa doesn’t sound to bad”

 

“I think I would have been pretty good at it” Lexa joked “My dad was disappointed but he got over it eventually. Even though he’ll mention it every time when I see him”

 

“Well I think it’s great that you stuck to what you wanted to do” Clarke nodded “I really admire that because my parents were exactly the same”

 

“They wanted you to join the army?”

 

“No, definitely not” Clarke laughed and was pleased to hear the same come from the girl sitting across from her “No my parents are both doctors”

 

“Wow”

 

“I went to medical school for 2 years before I decided it wasn’t what I wanted so I got my degree in the arts” Clarke said “Breaking that one to my parents was pretty difficult but they were good about it. They dropped in tonight actually; they left just before you came”

 

“Oh cool” Lexa nodded “They would have been extremely proud of you”

 

“They were”

 

A small yet comfortable silence fell over the pair, Lexa looked around the still busy restaurant but her eyes quickly returned back to Clarke.

 

“So how did you find this place?” Clarke asked

 

“My friend Gustus owns it, he’s a paleo freak so he bought this place a few years ago and I’ve been coming here almost weekly since” Lexa said with a grin “After dinner you have to try their black bean chocolate cake, it’s amazing”

 

“Black bean chocolate cake?” Clarke scrunched up her nose

 

“It’s really good, you have to trust me on that one” Lexa replied

 

“If you split some with me I’ll give it a try” Clarke nodded with a sigh “But if it’s gross, you owe me dessert”

 

“Done deal” Lexa responded happily as she untangled her fingers from her own and tapped the table with her palms gently in excitement “You won’t regret it”

 

“Well if I like the food here, maybe I can meet up with you when you’re here” Clarke shrugged “It’s so close to my work”

 

“I like how you think”

 

“I think I’m already healthier just by sitting in here”

 

“Possibly” Lexa chucked to herself

 

Clarke had to admit; Lexa knew good food.

 

Not only was it extremely healthy for her but it was fresh and delicious.

 

Clarke loved the black bean chocolate cake; she didn’t let Lexa know just how much though because she didn’t want her to be too smug about being right.

 

Lexa always seemed to be right.

 

The brunette trainer insisted on paying for dinner as a celebration of Clarke’s huge success of a showcase and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

 

She walked away from the register with a small, white cardboard box in her hand as Clarke stood by the door waiting for the other girl

 

“I know you liked it” Lexa said handing her the box with a soft smile

 

Clarke opened the box to see a huge slice of the chocolate cake sitting perfectly.

 

“Okay, no more being so thoughtful for you tonight” Clarke grinned, which lead to Clarke seeing the biggest smile Lexa could manage.

 

A smile she had only seen a few times but a smile she would pay to see again and again.

 

“Don’t worry, after my dad tries to talk me into the military all day tomorrow I’m sure I will go back to being snarky and short” Lexa joked “Order will be restored”

 

“I hate to tell you but we are pretty deep into tomorrow” Clarke held up her phone to display the time 1:23am “What time are you meeting your parents?”

 

“0-900 hours tomorrow morning they fly in so I’ll be going to the airport to pick them up” Lexa shrugged “It’s okay, we won’t be doing anything too strenuous and I’m only going to my Aunt’s house after I take my parents to lunch”

 

“That actually sounds like a busy day for you” Clarke laughed “I’ll still be in bed at 11 I think”

 

“Come on, let’s get you back to your car” Lexa said with a grin as she placed her hand on the small of Clarke’s back gently to guide her out the door so they could start walking again “And you deserve to be in bed until whenever you want”

 

“Oh I will be, I don’t plan on getting out of my pajama’s tomorrow” Clarke shrugged “I might go to the gym though”

 

“Indra is in most of tomorrow” Lexa grinned

 

“I think she hates me” Clarke groaned “She just glares at me whenever I’m in there”

 

“To be fair she glares at everyone but she keeps an eye on you because I told her to, especially near the treadmill”

 

“Am I ever going to live that down?”

 

“In all honesty, probably not” Lexa laughed full heartedly “Indra is a great trainer; she just needed someone to give her a chance. She is brutal though”

 

“I don’t know, I’ve seen you train people and I think you’re probably the harshest”

 

“You’ve never done a session with me before” Lexa countered

 

“That’s why. I’ve seen you push people so hard to the point where I swore I saw a middle aged man cry after he left”

 

“People hire me to get results” Lexa explained “If you want an easy work out, I’m not the person for you but if you want to be pushed past limits you didn’t know you had then I’m your girl”

 

“You do get results” Clarke replied before not skipping a beat “But you also scare me to death”

 

“I know what you mean” Lexa mumbled to herself very quietly, her eyes finding themselves very fascinated at the pavement below her suddenly

 

“But I don’t plan on doing much tomorrow because Monday the gallery owner is coming in to talk about the next few months” Clarke replied, brushing off Lexa’s quiet comment

 

“So back into it straight away, huh?”

 

“Definitely” Clarke replied

 

“So what do you eventually want to do?” Lexa asked as they reached the car park of Clarke’s work “Like what do you want out of your art?”

 

“I ask myself that all the time” Clarke responded as she searched for her keys in her bag before pulling them out “I want to own a gallery one day where I can sell my stuff out of. I just want to be able to make a living out of my work but I want to be happy doing it. Painting and sketching is what I love the most in the world and I want to be able to just do that”

 

“I have no doubt you’ll do it then” Lexa replied quietly as she let herself lean on Clarke’s car, still facing the other girl

 

“I hope so” Clarke nodded before assuming the same position in front of Lexa

 

Clarke didn’t realize just how close she was standing to Lexa until she caught herself glancing at the brunette’s perfect lips.

 

Feeling an involuntary rise in her heart rate as their eyes locked once more

 

“I should probably go now while I still have the willpower to” Lexa admitted quietly

 

“Yeah…” Clarke nodded quickly, swallowing thickly “Probably”

 

Clarke saw something in Lexa’s eyes shift, like she had abandoned all care in that moment as she let out a sharp exhale.

 

The next thing Clarke knew Lexa’s hand was gripping the back of her neck, gently tangling in her blonde hair and her lips were pressed to her own.

 

The kiss was gentle and tentative, waiting to see whether Clarke was going to pull away or whether she was going to return the kiss.

 

When Clarke’s brain finally caught up with her she dropped her keys and bag to the ground, to free up her hand so she could grip the back of Lexa’s shirt tightly.

 

She pulled the brunette in closer, returning the kiss as it built slowly with intensity.

 

She felt Lexa take her bottom lip between her own gently before exhaling deeply and breaking the kiss.

 

Lexa kept her forehead rested on Clarke’s for a moment.

 

Clarke let her eyes flutter open to see Lexa’ still had her eyes closed, a sweet smile lingering on the lips Clarke had just been kissing.

 

Clarke had wondered what it would be like kissing Lexa for a while and she had to admit that it was even better than what she thought it would have been.

 

“I have wanted to do that for a little while” Lexa rasped while taking a small step backwards, her eyes finally opening “You’re okay that we just did that?”

 

“Of course I am” Clarke replied with a nod

 

“Good” Lexa smiled widely with a nod before bending down to pick up Clarkes bag and keys

 

“It was either those or the cake”

 

“You made the right choice” Lexa laughed

 

“Thank you for tonight. Thank you for coming, for buying one of my paintings and for dinner” Clarke leaned over to place a chaste kiss on Lexa’s lips quickly before pulling back “I’ll call you tomorrow?”

 

“I look forward to it” Lexa replied with an uncharacteristic goofy smile


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments, kudos and bookmarks on this story everyone! I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!

Clarke sat at her desk in her apartment, charcoal all over her hands and her pants as she began shading yet another sketch she had completed that day.

 

She had been productive but was still thinking about the kiss between her and Lexa earlier that morning.

 

She couldn’t seem to think of anything else so it didn’t surprise her when she started sketching the outline and features of the brunette’s face.

 

It was late in the afternoon and Clarke was enjoying her day off.

 

She had only just had a shower after sleeping in and catching up on social media she had neglected for the first part of her day.

 

She jumped slightly as her phone began to vibrate next to her, being startled by the sound before smiling when she saw Lexa's name on the screen.

 

“Hey, I was going to call you later” Clarke replied as she stared at the now massive smudge of charcoal on her phone screen after accepting the call

 

“I know, I just needed to talk to someone sane” Lexa groaned from a distance, it sounded like she was driving her car

 

“So you had a fun day then?”

 

“I love my parents, I really do but I’m glad they live in Texas right now” Lexa replied dryly “And I know that makes me the worst daughter ever”

 

“Where are you?” Clarke asked while she continued her sketch, having Lexa on speaker

 

“I just dropped my parents off at their hotel; thankfully my apartment is only a one bedroom”

 

“Why don’t I send you my address and you come hang here? I can make dinner or we can get take out” Clarke offered bravely, pausing as she waited nervously for a reply

 

They had only kissed once.

 

Clarke didn’t want to read too much into it and she wasn’t even convinced she was ready for anything really serious right now but Lexa made her forget about all of that.

 

“That actually sounds fantastic, are you sure?”

 

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t” Clarke responded “I’ll text you my address and I’ll see you soon”

 

“You will” Lexa replied, her tone evident there was a smile on her face “Bye Clarke”

 

Clarke wiped her hands on her pants again after Lexa hung up so she could text her address straight away but then paused, realizing that she had spent all day in bed.

 

Which meant her apartment wasn’t clean.

 

It wasn’t even close to being clean.

 

She scrambled to make her apartment appear at the very least reasonable for when Lexa arrived, which was sooner than she expected as well.

 

Clarke opened her door, still covered in charcoal and her hair pulled into a messy bun but a bright smile on her face

 

“Hey”

 

“Hi there” Lexa said grinning “You been spending time in a chimney?”

 

“A chimney?” Clarke quirked her eyebrow before looked down at her pants and nodding “Right”

 

“Artist inspiration or something?” Lexa joked

 

“The chimney is where I get all my best ideas” Clarke nodded “I was actually doing some charcoal sketches”

 

“I thought it might have been something like that”

 

“Come in, sorry. I can’t just leave you standing outside” She replied before stepping aside for Lexa to take a tentative stride inside “And I forgot just how untidy it was before I invited you over so you’ll have to excuse that”

 

“It’s fine” Lexa shrugged as she watched Clarke close the door behind her “Thanks for letting me come over”

 

“Sounds like you needed it”

 

“I mean I had a great day but sometimes they are just too much” Lexa replied shaking her head “And I also had a really great night last night with this amazing artist so I’ve been super distracted. I kissed her and I haven’tstopped thinking about it all day”

 

“Really?” Clarke took a step into Lexa, her hand coming up to toy with the hem of her shirt

 

“Yes” Lexa confirmed quietly as she placed a cool hand on Clarke’s cheek, her thumb stroking it gently

 

“I haven’t stopped thinking about it either”

 

Clarke couldn’t wait anymore so she captured Lexa’s lips in her own, hearing a small hum of approval leaving the other girls mouth.

 

This kiss was more intense than the tentative, slow kiss last night.

 

This kiss was confident; it was assured that it would be returned with fervor.

 

Lexa’s other handed rested on Clarke’s waist while Clarke used both of her hands to cup Lexa’s face softly.

 

After a few beats they pulled away from each other and Clarke looked down to her feet shyly before meeting Lexa’s eager eyes

 

“You are beautiful, Clarke Griffin” Lexa rasped while she processed the loss of Clarke’s lips and hands on her face

 

“You’re not too bad yourself” Clarke joked as spotted some charcoal on Lexa’s face “And dirty apparently. Sorry”

 

“It’s okay” Lexa laughed as she rubbed at her cheek

 

Clarke reached down to take Lexa’s hand in hers, pulling her towards her couch and sitting down as soon as the brunette was next to her.

 

Clarke didn’t let her hand go, holding it tightly on her lap even when Lexa had settled beside her

 

“So what happened?”

 

“Nothing too unusual actually. My dad told me I was wasting my time being a trainer and he gave me the card of a recruiter who is apparently expecting a call from me this week”

 

“Oh wow”

 

“Which he is not going to get but I’m actually doing pretty well for myself and I think I’m making a difference so I don’t know why he won’t just give up” Lexa grumbled

 

“So that’s where you get it from?” Clarke smirked

 

“And of course my mom just thinks I should go to the military academy to make him happy” Lexa shook her head “I have never felt so disconnected from them”

 

“I’m sorry” Clarke replied sympathetically as she gave her hand a squeeze “For what it’s worth; I think you should just do what you want to do. They have their lives and you have yours”

 

“How has your day been anyway?” Lexa responded with a deep sigh

 

“Well I stayed in bed until 11”

 

“Like you said you would” Lexa smirked lightly

 

“Exactly and I’ve just been doing some sketching” Clarke replied with a shrug “Nothing too exciting”

 

“Your apartment is nice” Lexa noted as she looked around the room

 

“It looks better when it’s clean”

 

“So I guess I’ll just have to come over again when it’s clean” Lexa offered shyly as she looked down to their still joined hands

 

“Definitely” Clarke nodded “But sadly this is neat compared to my little studio back there”

 

“You do all of your art from here?”

 

“I have a small room” Clarke nodded “I want to get a bigger studio sometime soon but for now it does the trick”

 

“Can I see?”

 

Clarke paused.

 

She would have been more than happy to show Lexa her little art hub at the back of her apartment but she had left the room in a hurry trying to clean the rest of her apartment for Lexa’s impending arrival.

 

It was always messy in that room, she didn’t care about how it looked because it was her art studio.

 

What she did care about though was the sketch book that she left open on the middle of her desk.

 

The book that was lying open on a picture she had been sketching of Lexa.

 

“You want to see my art room?” Clarke asked after a long pause

 

“If that’s okay with you” Lexa replied with a nod

 

“Oh…well it’s just really messy right now” Clarke shrugged as she tried to think of a better reason to stop Lexa walking in that room

 

“Isn’t it supposed to be?” Lexa asked in a soft tone

 

“You really want to see it?” Clarke asked with a sigh as she looked at Lexa’s green eyes knowing that she had no way to combat the look she was giving her

 

“I would love to”

 

“Okay” Clarke stood tugging Lexa up with her before pulling her to the back of the apartment and opening the door to turn on the light

 

Lexa paused at the door as Clarke entered, quickly going to her desk and closing her sketch book subtly as she sat on the corner

 

“It’s really small and messy but it’s what I have right now” Clarke shrugged “It does the trick”

 

“After seeing your showcase” Lexa began while walking towards a few completed paintings by the desk “I’m definitely going to agree with that. These are awesome”

 

“Thanks” Clarke smiled

 

“You are really talented” Lexa nodded

 

Lexa crouched down slowly, picking up a small paintbrush that had fallen on the floor and placing it on the desk near Clarke

 

“I just kind of leave things where they fall” Clarke laughed

 

Lexa nodded with a soft smile on her face but her eyes were locked on Clarke’s lips

 

Pressing forward in one swift step she kissed Clarke urgently

 

Clarke had no idea what was happening but she grabbed the sides of Lexa’s thin jacket and pulled her flush against her as soon as she felt the contact.

 

Lexa moved her hands to rest on either side of Clarke on the desk but knocking over a box full of pencils in the process

 

The noise made Lexa pull away sharply, taking a small step away from Clarke

 

“Sorry” Lexa mumbled

 

“Why are you sorry?” Clarke asked with her eyes fluttering open, wondering if that really had just happened

 

“I just find your talent really attractive and I couldn't help myself”

 

“You know I have never heard anyone say that to me but I’ll take it if it is coming from you” Clarke pushed off her desk before collecting Lexa’s hand again “Come on, if you spend too much time in here the paints might goto your head”

 

\---

 

Clarke cooked dinner for Lexa and the brunette helped Clarke where she could.

 

Even helping to clean the kitchen once they were finished, mentioning to Clarke that she had a rule once someone has cooked they shouldn’t have to clean.

 

After dinner Clarke had a revelation and grabbed Lexa without any warning, pulling her up a stairwell in her apartment building

 

“Are you going to kill me in here?” Lexa asked looking around “Is this why you invited me over?”

 

“If I was trying to kill you I probably would have done it in my art studio where I have sharp things”

 

“Or in the kitchen” Lexa added

 

“Exactly” Clarke answered as she opened the door at the top of the stairwell “I wanted to show you something”

 

“I’ve got it!” Lexa exclaimed “You’re going to push me off the top”

 

Clarke rolled her eyes with a chuckle before taking Lexa through the door.

 

There were 2 armless pool deck chairs pushed together on the very center of the roof, looking directly up at the stars

 

Lexa followed Clarke as she settled on the deck chairs, looking up to the clear sky with a grin before turning to the other girl

 

“I promise I won’t try and murder you” Clarke replied rolling her eyes “This time anyway”

 

“Good enough for me”

 

Lexa lay stiffly on her back next to Clarke as they silently admired what they could see of the universe above them

 

“Do you come out here often?” Lexa asked quietly after a few minutes

 

“Whenever I feel like I need to clear my head” Clarke shrugged turning her head to watch Lexa before looking at the stars again herself “I like coming out here when I feel a little lost and knowing it’s a huge universe out there so it’s okay to get a little lost sometimes”

 

“You’re pretty amazing, Clarke” Lexa mumbled quietly

 

“Don’t get soft on me now” Clarke mocked before she felt Lexa unexpectedly shift beside her

 

Lexa moved herself to curl up into Clarke's side; resting her head on the blonde’s chest like it was the most natural thing in the world.

 

Lexa looped her arm around Clarke’s waist, placing herself in a vulnerable position which Clarke knew she wasn’t used to and it left Clarke a little awestruck

 

Clarke wrapped her arm around Lexa's back to pull her closer and hold her in place before pressing a lingering kiss into Lexa’s wavy hair.

 

\---

 

They came up to that rooftop many times over the next few weeks.

 

It was 3 weeks later that they had found themselves in the exact same position as that night.

 

Clarke was busy at work once again and Lexa’s calendar was filling up with new clients so they hadn’t been able to spend much time together that week.

 

Clarke was going to the gym almost daily to work out but spending most of her time watching the other girl and Lexa was increasingly distracted by having Clarke there.

 

Lexa pulled on the fabric of Clarke’s shirt just over her hips tightly with her fingers, bunching the material in her hands

 

“You okay?” Clarke asked quietly

 

“I just had a random flashback of the time I was a massive jerk to you”

 

“Yeah but I got protein slice out of it” Clarke laugh quietly as she heard Lexa groan below her “Though I do have to ask something”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“I know you had a bad day but did the fact that you thought Bellamy was my boyfriend add to that?”

 

Lexa paused

 

“Yes” She said honestly with a sigh “And I don’t know why because it was none of my business at the time and I had only talked to you once. I think I was also angry at the fact you could make me feel like that”

 

“I knew it” Clarke replied with a small smile “Headstrong Lexa was jealous”

 

“Yeah but I’m not anymore” Lexa said quickly “I mean I have no reason to be…right?”

 

“I guess this is a perfect segue to talk about what I wanted to bring up tonight”

 

Clarke felt Lexa exhale before she pushed herself up from Clarke’s chest and sitting up next to the blonde.

 

Clarke felt her heart skip a beat as Lexa pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them tightly, her eyes displaying everything Clarke needed to know.

 

“I just keep getting stuck when I talk to someone about you or when I introduce you to my friends or colleagues because I don’t know what exactly to introduce you as”

 

“Right” Lexa nodded

 

“And I know I’m probably jumping the gun here Lexa, but I just kind of need to know where you stand” Clarke admitted as she shifted to a sitting position as well to be on the same level as Lexa

 

“I’m sorry if I did something to second guess my intentions, I never meant to do that” Lexa said honestly

 

“No” Clarke shook her head quickly before reaching her hand out to place it on one of Lexa’s “No you haven’t done anything at all. I just need to know where you stand so I can manage my own expectations here. I don’t want

to push you into anything you don’t want; it’s just that sometimes you aren’t the easiest person for me to read”“Of course I want to be in a relationship with you, Clarke” Lexa answered “I wouldn’t be up here with you if I didn’t want that. You know I think you are amazing, crazy talented and extremely beautiful…I’m just not good at relationships”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I’m hard work, I know that. I’m guarded, too guarded for my own good sometimes and I also know that. I have a hard time trusting people because when I’ve let someone in, they’ve broken my heart”

 

“I know but that’s a risk you take” Clarke replied “And I’m not a part of that past”

 

“I just have moments sometimes when I think of how much I have let you in already and I think of how much girls have hurt me and it scares me” Lexa paused as she closed her eyes tightly before opening them again to look directly at Clarke “It scares me because you already have the power to destroy me more than anyone has before and it’s only been weeks”

 

“Lexa” Clarke spoke softly, just above a whisper “I can’t guarantee that I’m not ever going to hurt you because I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future but I can promise I would never try and use how you feel about me to hurt you in any way”

 

“I know you wouldn’t” Lexa nodded

 

“And I’m not those other girls” Clarke replied

 

“I know” Lexa repeated with a small smile “So if you’re willing to put up with me, I would be lucky to have you”

 

Clarke leaned over quickly to place a lingering, slow kiss on Lexa’s lips.

 

Lexa hummed in approval into Clarke’s lips before she pulled away to sit back in her previous position

 

“And for the record, I’m just as scared as you are” Clarke noted “So at least we can be scared together”

 

“Sounds good” Lexa chuckled as she spread herself out on the deckchair once again, holding her arms out for Clarke to join her

 

It didn’t take Clarke too much encouragement to join her and she rested her head on Lexa’s shoulder, letting her hand rest on the other girl’s stomach.

 

“Why are you as scared as me?” Lexa asked as she drew circles on Clarke’s back with her fingers

 

“Because I had my heart broken pretty badly too”

 

“What happened?” Lexa continued in a tiny voice that Clarke couldn’t recognize but it made her just want to hold the other girl even closer

 

“Well I was with a guy called Finn for 8 months. Long story short I came to his apartment one day early to find him in bed with someone he worked with” Clarke replied with a sigh “Looking back, I don’t know whether I was more upset at him for doing that or just making me look so stupid”

 

“He sounds like the stupid one” Lexa grumbled, turning her head to place a quick kiss on Clarke’s forehead

 

“But that doesn’t matter because it meant I could meet you”

 

“Yeah” Lexa agreed

 

“So what about you?” Clarke asked “Who is your Finn?”

 

“My Finn is a girl called Costia” Lexa said as she swallowed thickly “We were together for a year and a half before she left me for one of my best friends”

 

“Ouch”

 

“Ouch indeed” Lexa chuckled quietly “And I felt exactly the same as you, I felt like I was made to look foolish”

 

“Okay, enough about our exes” Clarke shuddered as she felt a cool breeze sweep over her “I want this to be a happy moment”

 

“This is a happy moment” Lexa nodded

 

“Do you want to stay tonight?” Clarke asked after a few moments of silence “It’s getting late and we both have tomorrow off…”

 

“I was kind of hoping you were going to ask me that” Lexa admitted


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are all amazing and I hope you like this chapter! A few more notes down the bottom! Please let me know what you think.

3 months had passed since the night they had first gone to the top of Clarke’s apartment building.

 

3 happy months.

 

Clarke knew it was early days still but she was happier than ever and Lexa made her happier than words could explain.

 

Clarke had been busy at work as interest had grown in her paintings since the showcase but she was also preparing for another huge event being held at the gallery.

 

This meant she was working with an older, established artist who was extremely picky and demanding.

 

So much so that Lexa was starting to jokingly refer to him as her client boyfriend because he took up more time than Lexa managed to get lately.

 

Lexa was good about it though, she understood that is was a busy period for Clarke and was extremely supportive.

 

Lexa was really busy herself between running the gym and managing her own clients.

 

They were really starting to blend into each other’s lives

 

They tried to spend any spare time they had together, whether that be alone or with one of their groups of friends.

 

They hardly even slept alone when they could help it, both of them found themselves in between each of their apartments quite often at night.

 

Clarke pushed the door of change rooms open with a tired sigh.

 

It had been a long week of work but it was Friday night and she had just finished her gym session after work but she was paying for her lack of rest because her whole body was heavy.

 

Of course though, their luck meant the night Clarke was free Lexa was scheduled to be in the gym and run a class.

 

Clarke made her way across the gym and knocked on the gym managers office door lightly.

 

“Come in”

 

Clarke cracked the door open to see her girlfriend, hair tied in a messy bun at the top of her head with her still crooked glasses on her face

 

“Hey” Clarke smiled

 

“Oh hey” Lexa grinned, standing immediately as Clarke closed the door behind her

 

“Didn’t you say you were going to get those fixed?” Clarke laughed to herself

 

“I did say that but they still do the trick for now” Lexa replied “Even if I have to tilt my head a little while I work on this computer”

 

“Very resourceful” Clarke nodded before hugging her brunette tightly, resting her chin on her shoulder

 

“How long have you been here for?”

 

“I just finished my work out” Clarke replied as they parted from the hug 

 

Lexa sat on the edge of her desk, pulling Clarke by the hips to stand directly in front of her

 

“You should have come and said hi” Lexa said while taking Clarke’s hand and interlacing their fingers

 

“No it’s okay, I know you have a class soon and I didn’t want to disturb”

 

“I came in early to try and get some programs written out seeing as I was just sitting around my apartment this afternoon” Lexa shrugged “Everyone still alive out there?”

 

“Indra is running a tight ship” Clarke chuckled “She glares at me less now too”

 

“I know, I’ve noticed” Lexa grinned as she raised her eyebrows quickly “So are you going home now?”

 

“Well my girlfriend is working tonight so I think so” Clarke replied

 

“And she is devastated about that too” Lexa sighed “I’ll be over as soon as I finish my shift”

 

“You don’t have to” Clarke shook her head

 

“I know I don’t have to but I want to”

 

“Well you have tomorrow off, right?” Clarke asked hopefully

 

“I have a bootcamp to run tomorrow morning because Lincoln is apparently going camping this weekend with Octavia” Lexa sighed “But I have the rest of the day so I fully plan on coming back to bed with you if that’s okay”

 

“I’d love that” Clarke said with a smile “It’ll be nice to have a whole day together”

 

“I can’t wait” Lexa grinned “Unless you make plans with your client boyfriend first that is”

 

“Oh stop it” Clarke laughed as she pulled Lexa against her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders as Lexa rested her head on her girlfriends chest “I guess I should leave you to your programs”

 

“I’ll walk you to your car” Lexa said pulling her head back to look Clarke in the eyes “I have to go out there in a minute anyway so I can inflict some pain on a group of people”

 

Clarke couldn’t help but laugh before she leaned down to quickly kiss the other girl

 

“Come on” Clarke said tugging Lexa off her desk by the hand

 

Lexa interlaced their fingers once again as they walked through the gym, moving past Indra who was typing something harshly into the computer at reception with a frown on her face.

 

“Your class starts in 3 minutes” Indra said with a furrowed brow as she watched Lexa move towards the door with Clarke

 

“I’ll be back in 2” Lexa nodded

 

“I forgot how busy it gets here on a Friday night” Clarke replied as they reached her car in the full car park

 

“So I’ll text you when I finish up?” Lexa asked “I think it should be around 10”

 

“Just let me know” Clarke nodded

 

Lexa smiled with a nod of her own before gently shifting Clarke to have her back pressed against the car.

 

 Lexa used her own hips to pin the other girl to the car door with little effort.

 

“Keep your bed warm for me until I can get there?”

 

“I’ll see what I can do” Clarke smiled before kissing Lexa lightly and pushing her away playfully “Off you go or Indra’s going to come out here”

 

“Hey, I am her boss” Lexa said

 

“I’m not sending you inside for your sake, I’m sending you inside for mine” Clarke laughed “We’ve only now gone down to minimal glaring and I’d like to keep it that way thank you very much”

 

“I’ll see you later” Lexa shook her head with a grin before turning on her heel and going back inside the gym

 

\--- 

 

Clarke was half asleep watching a movie that had lost her attention a while ago when she heard Lexa open the door with the key she had left hidden out the front of her apartment.

 

She heard quiet, purposeful footsteps up the hall until she rolled over to face the door where she found a soft smiling Lexa with a white box in her hand leaning against the doorframe

 

“Hey there” Lexa spoke gently “Did I wake you?”

 

“No, I think you just caught me before I fell asleep” Clarke smiled

 

“I bought us some healthy treats on the way here, I figured we can snack on these tomorrow during our bed day”

 

“I’m so excited for tomorrow, being in bed all day”

 

“You’re in bed right now, Clarke” Lexa laughed before pushing herself off the door frame to reach the bed

 

Clarke held open the covers for Lexa as she kicked off her shoes, placing the white box on Clarke’s bedside table and curling up into her girlfriend

 

“I missed you today” Lexa mumbled into Clarke’s neck

 

“Did you just say you missed me?” Clarke asked as she tried to create some distance from the other girl to look her in the eyes but found it difficult when Lexa was latched on like she was hanging on for dear life

 

“No” Lexa mumbled quickly

 

“Uh huh because I could have sworn I heard you say that”

 

“Nope” Lexa shook her head as she moved her head to rest right above Clarke’s chest

 

“Well if you did say that then I would have told you that I missed you today as well” Clarke replied while caressing her fingertips across Lexa’s arm that was draped over her stomach

 

The more time they spent together, the more Lexa had let Clarke in.

 

The more Lexa let Clarke in, the more she let Clarke see the softer side of her but she could still be pretty guarded sometimes.

 

Which she knew and was trying to change but Clarke was just happy she was willing to try.

 

But then sometimes Lexa would do something incredibly sweet just for Clarke or would say something out of the blue that probably surprised Lexa herself.

 

“How was your class?”

 

“Fine thank you, just a group of work colleagues who are doing this corporate fitness challenge” Lexa replied “I’ll admit that I was pretty happy seeing the women doing so much better than the men”

 

“Was it a big group?”

 

“Only like 10” Lexa shrugged “What have you done since you got home?”

 

“I had the best bath ever, ate leftovers for dinner and got straight into bed. I was taking my job very seriously as the bed warmer”

 

“I have to say, you did a very good job” Lexa mumbled followed by small yawn

 

“What time do you have to get up for bootcamp tomorrow?”

 

“It starts at 6 at the park a few blocks from here so I’m thinking I might just run there, do the session and run back” Lexa reasoned more to herself than to Clarke “That way I’m getting something in tomorrow morning before coming back here and getting back into bed”

 

“Don’t forget that you’ll be having a shower when you get back here. Don’t forget that part because you are not getting in here all sweaty and gross”

 

“I’ll have a shower” Lexa nodded

 

“So how did Lincoln convince you to do this for him?” Clarke asked curiously “I feel like usually you’d just tell him to cancel his camping trip”

 

“Hey, I have a heart”

 

“Oh _I_ know you have a heart” Clarke nodded “But does everyone else know that?”

 

“Well now you’re just being mean” Lexa protested lazily “Lincoln has been great since he started and he’s covered whenever I needed it. It’s a group of mom’s so no doubt they’ll be disappointed when Lincoln doesn’t show up this weekend and they get me instead”

 

“If it were me, I would be happy” Clarke gave Lexa a quick squeeze, which earned her a quiet chuckle

 

“You have to say that though” Lexa joked

 

“I don’t have to say anything” Clarke shook her head as she pressed a lingering kiss on Lexa’s hair “But I mean people always stare at you in the gym so I’m sure a few of them will be happy to see you”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You know what I mean” Clarke replied “You know you’re attractive so of course people are going to stare at you whenever you are around and I’ve seen it first hand in the gym all the time”

 

“What about you?” Lexa asked as she shifted herself very quickly without warning to sit on Clarke’s hips, her knees either side of her as she straddled her girlfriend “Do you stare, Clarke?”

 

“Well that’s how we first met” Clarke said as she reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind Lexa’s ear that was hanging loose

 

“No, we first met because you hurt yourself just to get my attention” Lexa smirked

 

“Yeah, that’s what happened” Clarke rolled her eyes “I was so desperate to talk to you that I threw myself off that treadmill”

 

“I’m glad that you have _finally_ admitted that” Lexa nodded as she leaned down to ghost her lips over Clarke’s “And just so you know, I noticed you before you even came into the gym”

 

Lexa dipped her head the last few inches to capture Clarke’s lips in her own but Clarke pulled away, trying to create some distance between them

 

“What do you mean you noticed me before I even came into the gym?” Clarke asked raising her eyebrows

 

“I was kissing you” Lexa protested as she frowned but leaned back further so she could look Clarke in the eyes completely

 

“Are you pouting?”

 

“I don’t pout”

 

“You little cutie” Clarke teased as she playfully poked Lexa’s abs

 

“I’m not cute” Lexa replied with a small smile as she grabbed Clarke’s wrists gently and pinned them above her head

 

“Answer the question please”

 

“I came out from the office and I saw you standing by the gym doors for a good few minutes” Lexa admitted as her eyes glanced to Clarke’s lips again “I wasn’t sure what you were doing but you looked pretty deep in thought so I just waited to see whether you were going to come in or not”

 

“I was reflecting” Clarke defended

 

“So was I” Lexa nodded “Because when I saw you I just froze. I don’t know why but I just froze”

 

“You did?”

 

“I don’t know why I’m telling you this” Lexa said shaking her head, talking more to herself while knitting her eyebrows together in a frown

 

“Because I’m your girlfriend”

 

“The point to my story was that I don’t notice if anyone stares at me because I’m too busy looking at you”

 

“Okay, you can kiss me again now” Clarke nodded eagerly

 

“Who said I wanted to again?” Lexa quirked her eyebrows

 

“You do” Clarke replied simply

 

Lexa didn’t see the point in arguing so she leaned down once more to kiss Clarke eagerly.

 

Clarke moved her hands from Lexa’s loose grip to move her hands to the brunette’s hips

 

“I was almost asleep you know” Clarke mumbled as Lexa moved to kiss the pulse point on her neck, making her shiver involuntarily

 

“Well I hope you’re awake now” Lexa mumbled against her skin

 

Clarke used one of her hands to cup Lexa’s cheek and guide her back to her lips quickly

 

“Definitely” Clarke nodded as she kissed Lexa again almost desperately

 

\---

 

 Clarke groaned as she heard Lexa’s alarm sound.

 

She felt Lexa’s warm body behind hers, her face buried into the back on Clarke’s neck.

 

 Their legs were tangled together and Lexa’s hand rested on Clarke’s bare stomach, twitching at times during their slumber.

 

“Your alarm” Clarke groaned as she felt Lexa’s skin separate from her own slightly while the other girl stirred

 

“You get it”

 

“It is your phone” Clarke grumbled as she heard Lexa sigh and felt coolness where her warm skin was a moment ago “What time is it?”

 

“5” Lexa yawned

 

“Why am I awake?”

 

“Go back to sleep” Lexa chuckled “Do you mind if I take a quick shower?”

 

“You go for it” Clarke replied shutting her eyes tightly “You know where the towels are and as long as you shower quietly, I don’t care”

 

“You are such a charmer in the morning” Lexa joked dryly

 

“You’re not the most pleasant yourself” Clarke mumbled

 

Clarke felt a soft pillow land on her head and she couldn’t help but laugh before holding the pillow over her head tightly

 

Clarke heard the shower run quietly as she drifted back into sleep until she felt the pillow being moved from her face, cracking her eyes open to see Lexa standing in a towel in front of her

 

“Please tell me it’s 8 and you’ve already run your class”

 

“No, it’s 5:15 and I really need to go but I don’t think a towel is appropriate training gear” Lexa smirked “Do you happen to know where that bag of my clothes is?”

 

“It was taking too much room, I cleared a drawer for you” Clarke uttered in a grumpy tone as she closed her eyes tightly again “Please wake me when you get back”

 

“You put my stuff in a drawer?” Lexa asked after a moment’s pause

 

Clarke’s eyes opened again where she found Lexa kneeling in front of her, their faces on the same level as Clarke tugged on the covers tightly unsure of what to expect.

 

“Is that okay?” Clarke asked seriously, flinching slightly waiting for an answer

 

She didn’t have to wait long as a wide smile spread across Lexa’s features.

 

Lexa leaned in to press a chaste kiss to Clarke’s lips before pulling away to look her in the eyes once more

 

“You _like_ me” Lexa grinned as she teased playfully

 

“Nope” Clarke denied as a smile grew on her own lips “I do not”

 

“You do, you cleared a drawer out for me” Lexa stood from the bedside and walked to the drawers

 

“Third from the bottom”

 

“Thank you”

 

Clarke barely remembered when Lexa left, kissing her softly on the forehead before beginning her run to the park.

 

\---

 

The next time she woke, she felt a warm arm snaking around her waist slowly and gently, pulling her close.

 

“You’re back” Clarke said quietly as she turned herself to face Lexa but hiding her face in the trainer’s neck “How was bootcamp?”

 

“I may have told a woman to stop being so precious and pretentious” Lexa said

 

“You may have?”

 

“Well she told me what Lincoln usually does with them, even though he obviously just gave me a program to run for them and she tried to tell me how to run the session” Lexa explained “So I upped their running distance and their sets…she didn’t take it too well so I told her she was being precious”

 

“Your temper is hilarious sometimes” Clarke laughed before kissing a spot on her neck gently “I don’t think Lincoln will be happy with you though”

 

“No it was fine, the rest of the ladies were happy to be pushed” Lexa replied “I just think he’ll get someone more understanding to cover next time with that group of women”

 

“Well Indra wouldn’t be any more patient”

 

“No definitely not” Lexa said giving Clarke a quick squeeze “But it doesn’t matter because now I get to spend the rest of the day with you”

 

“Yay” Clarke mumbled happily “What do you want to do?”

 

“Well first of all I would like to stay in bed with you for a bit longer, then we can make breakfast” Lexa pressed a few quick kisses to Clarke’s messy hair “Then I actually thought we could go on a hike this afternoon. There’s this really nice place I want to take you”

 

“Isn’t this supposed to be our day of nothing?”

 

“I just think it will be fun” Lexa replied

 

“Okay” Clarke nodded with a smirk “Only because you’re cute”

 

“I’m not cute” Lexa responded before she paused “You’re wearing clothes”

 

“Thank you for noticing” Clarke chuckled to herself quietly “Well you weren’t here and I got cold. Plus you are too”

 

“That’s because I was out in public”

 

“Yeah but you had a shower when you got back” Clarke noted

 

\---

 

Clarke sat next to Lexa on the top of a grueling hiking trail they had just successfully conquered.

 

Lexa had underestimated just how difficult the hike actually was because she hadn’t done it in quite some time but it was nice to get outdoors on such a beautiful afternoon and spend time with each other.

 

Clarke also found it pretty amusing thinking of all the different insults she could hurl at Lexa for taking her up such a steep trail, reminding her that if she broke her wrist she couldn’t paint or sketch.

 

In the end though, their hard work was rewarded as they looked out over the trail they had just defeated as the sun began to set

 

“Can we just repeat this day over and over?” Lexa asked quietly with her head leaning on Clarke’s shoulder

 

“We can always come back” Clarke shrugged with her hand around Lexa’s waist

 

“You’re willing to come back?” Lexa asked with a quirked brow

 

“It was worth it” Clarke replied before she exhaled “And to be honest I would probably follow you wherever you wanted to go”

 

“You sap” Lexa joked as she nudged the artist gently

 

“Your sarcasm is ruining my moment here”

 

“Your moment?” Lexa asked “Not ours?”

 

“You’re in the detail” Clarke replied nonchalantly which earned her another nudge from the girl next to her “This was a good idea though, so thank you”

 

“Not a problem”

 

“Hey so Jasper invited us to dinner tomorrow night if you want to go?” Clarke mentioned before continuing “And I know you have a workshop pretty much all day tomorrow at the gym but I thought if you free we could go. We used to all have dinner at this place on Sunday’s all the time”

 

“Sounds good to me” Lexa responded “Who’s going?”

 

“Well us, Bellamy, Octavia, Lincoln, Jasper, Monty and Raven who you haven’t met yet” Clarke grinned

 

“She’s been away, right?”

 

“Yeah, overseas” Clarke noted as Lexa pulled her head from Clarke’s shoulder to look at her with a soft smile “What?”

 

“Nothing, I’m just smiling at my girlfriend”

 

“And the real answer please?”

 

“It’s just nice that your friends are being so welcoming” Lexa shrugged shyly

 

“Lexa, we’ve been together for just over 3 months now, I would hope they were” Clarke replied quickly

 

“You ready for our walk back down?”

 

“You know I almost forgot that we have to walk down what we just came up” Clarke laughed

 

“I’ll hold your hand the whole way” Lexa teased as she stood, dusting herself off

 

“I don’t need anyone to hold my hand thank you very much” Clarke said following suit and standing herself before taking Lexa’s hand in hers “But I would like to hold yours”

 

“Works for me” Lexa replied “Let’s move”

 

“You really would have made a good Commander the way you think you can order people around” Clarke said sarcastically as she gave her girlfriend’s hand a squeeze

 

\---

 

Clarke kicked off her shoes after throwing herself on the couch, Lexa following her lead once they made it back to Clarke’s apartment.

 

“What time does your workshop start tomorrow?” Clarke asked while pulling Lexa into her arms

 

“Well I have to go and set up beforehand so I’ll probably have to leave here at 8” Lexa replied “Provided I’m sleeping here that is”

 

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

 

“Well aren’t you sick of me?” Lexa asked pulling back from Clarke slightly

 

“I’m not sick of you at all” Clarke paused “Are you sick of me?”

 

“No” Lexa shook her head quickly “I just thought that you might be sick of me staying at your apartment so much”

 

“Well you do steal my blankets a lot at night” Clarke said thoughtfully

 

“No seriously”

 

“In all honesty Lexa” Clarke nodded with a sigh “I struggle to get to sleep without you sometimes when you aren’t here”

 

“So do I” Lexa nodded “What do you want to do tonight?”

 

“This” The artist shrugged

 

Lexa was about to respond when there was a light knock on Clarke’s door.

 

Clarke frowned at the door, knitting her eyebrows together as she groaned while Lexa moved from Clarke’s arms

 

“This better be good” Clarke commented as she stood from the couch to move to the front door, opening it and freezing at the sight in front of her

 

“Hey Clarke”

 

“What are you doing here Finn?” Clarke asked as her heart fall into the very pit of her stomach

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note that I actually really liked Finn but for the purpose of my story I need to make him kind of a jerk so please forgive me for that! I'll update as soon as I can.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, you guys are seriously amazing. You make me smile so much with all the comments you are leaving and i really appreciate the feedback, so thank you! 
> 
> Please excuse the editing…it's super late here and I really should be asleep but I wanted to post this tonight.
> 
> I'm just going to leave this here… actual notes down the bottom

“I thought I would just drop by” Finn said with an awkward smile

 

“You thought you would just drop by?” Clarke asked raising her eyebrows “Do you want to tell me in what universe you thought I would actually want to see you?”

 

“I know and it’s completely deserved but I just need a second to talk to you” Finn said holding his hands up defensively

 

Clarke looked back to Lexa quickly; all too aware of what an awkward situation her girlfriend was being placed in at that moment as she herself shifted uncomfortably.

 

“No Finn” Clarke replied shaking her head as she returned her gaze to her ex “We have nothing to talk about”

 

“How about the fact that I’m sorry” Finn pushed “That I know I had the best and I ruined the best thing has ever happened to me”

 

Clarke heard fast footsteps behind her and she knew it was Lexa moving away from the couch.

 

“And you’re about to ruin the best thing that has ever happened to me” Clarke said looking down the hall to watch Lexa disappear into her bedroom, turning back to Finn who had a sorry look on his face “Please don’t come back here Finn. Whatever has needed to happen has happened and it’s done. We’re done”

 

Clarke closed the door without another word, locking it before hurrying to her bedroom to find Lexa looking down at an open draw of her clothes.

 

“Hey” Clarke said softly “What are you doing?”

 

“That was Finn?” Lexa asked quietly as she kept her eyes down on the contents of the draw

 

“Yes that was him” Clarke nodded “And before you say anything else, I told him to leave”

 

“He came back for you” Lexa said shakily

 

“No he didn’t” Clarke replied, taking another step towards Lexa but she flinched

 

“Please just stay there” She rasped and although Clarke couldn’t see Lexa’s whole face, she could see she had her eyes shut tightly

 

“What’s going on, Lexa?” Clarke asked “Talk to me because I’m right here”

 

“It sounds like you might have a decision to make” Lexa replied quietly

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Whether you want to get back with him” Lexa answered as she turned around to face Clarke, her eyes wide and hurt

 

“No, Lexa I don’t want him back” Clarke shook her head before taking a step towards Lexa but she stepped back into the draws

 

“Am I standing in your way?”

 

“Of what?”

 

“Am I standing in the way of your happily ever after?” Lexa asked “Am I standing in the way of the person that you always want to go back to? Am I the realisation that you want someone else?”

 

“No” Clarke said firmly “No you are the complete opposite of that to me”

 

“I should go” Lexa mumbled

 

“I’m not letting you go anywhere” Clarke shook her head “I don’t want him, I want you. I told him to leave straight away and you know what Lexa? I’m actually a bit offended that you think I would just go back to him after what happened”

 

“I don’t know your relationship” Lexa growled

 

“No but you know me” Clarke countered quickly “And I think I know you pretty damn well too so I’m not going to let you shut down or shut me out”

 

“I just…I don’t want to be someone’s second option again” Lexa replied quietly as her eyes dropped to her hands in front of her “But I don’t want to lose you”

 

“You will never be my second option and I’m not Costia”

 

Lexa’s eyes shot straight up to look Clarke in the eyes as she challenged her

 

“I know you aren’t” Lexa said stiffly before Clarke saw her shoulders dropped “You aren’t and it’s not fair to hold you to that”

 

“It’s not” Clarke responded honestly

 

Lexa nodded as she took a few tentative steps towards Clarke, cupping her face in both of her hands gently.

 

“I just know how much it would hurt to lose you” Lexa said “Because I know how lucky I am to have you”

 

“You’re not going to lose me” Clarke replied before kissing Lexa quickly “And you can be a drama queen sometimes”

 

“Hey” Lexa scolded weakly while resting her forehead against Clarke’s

 

“Can we please just enjoy the rest of our night and not let him ruin it?”

 

“Yes” Lexa answered simply

 

\---

 

Later that night, Lexa and Clarke were up on Clarke’s roof on the deck chairs, which had become their spot.

 

Lexa sighed deeply as she pulled the thin blanket over both of their bodies as Clarke looked up at the sky silently with her head resting on Lexa’s shoulder.

 

“I didn’t even ask if you’re okay” Lexa spoke in a scratchy voice, rough from the length of time they had gone sitting in silence

 

“I’m okay” Clarke nodded

 

“It just couldn’t have been easy seeing him”

 

“I was more concerned about you Lexa” Clarke answered honestly with a shrug “And thinking about it now, yeah I’m a little shocked that he just showed up to my apartment out of the blue but there’s nothing there on my end and that’s as much as I was concerned about it”

 

“I know” Lexa replied quietly “But I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t okay”

 

“I’m okay” Clarke repeated with another nod “I have you and I let him go a while ago so I am more than okay”

 

“I’m sorry I freaked out” Lexa sighed “I didn’t mean to but I didn’t know what to do”

 

“You don’t have to apologise”

 

“No I do” Lexa said sitting up, forcing Clarke to move as well beside her “I have to apologize because I’m extremely defensive and I’ve tried fixing that”

 

“Well first of all, you didn’t know my ex was going to show up at my doorstep and I don’t blame you for being defensive. You’ve had a pretty bad relationship experience so I understand”

 

“So have you though” Lexa protested “And I don’t know how you opened your heart like you have to me after what happened to you. You are stronger than I could ever hope to be but I am trying”

 

“You and I are very different people Lexa” Clarke reasoned “It wasn’t always like this; I didn’t have an open heart after what happened. Not until I met you and you didn’t leave me any other choice because you just made it happen”

 

“I’m going to try harder” Lexa rasped

 

“You are trying hard enough” Clarke answered “Now can we please just cuddle again because I’m getting cold”

 

“Using me for my body warmth?” Lexa joked faintly

 

“You are very warm” Clarke replied as she held her arms out and Lexa allowed herself to sink into the other girl before placing a kiss on her forehead “You could never be anything but my first choice Lexa”

 

\---

 

Lexa had to leave again early the next morning for her workshop so Clarke took her time to finish off a few paintings and answer a few gallery emails when she heard a knock on her door.

 

She paused, swallowing thickly and just praying that it wasn’t Finn again

 

“Open up, I have to use the bathroom” She heard a familiar voice call loudly

 

Clarke laughed before shooting our from her office to open the door finding her friend good friend Raven who had just spent 6 months overseas

 

“Raven!” Clarke said engulfing her into a hug

 

“It’s good to see you too and I’m loving this hug but I really have to go, I wasn’t kidding” Raven said as she squirmed out of Clarke’s grip before rushing into her apartment

 

“Good to see you too” Clarke called jokingly as she closed her apartment door

 

Clarke made Raven a coffee as her friend pulled out a few gifts and told her all of these amazing stories of her time in South America.

 

A comfortable silence fell over them as Clarke leaned back into her couch with a small smile on her face, holding the arm mug close to her chest.

 

“So I get to meet your girl tonight” Raven said with a smirk

 

“You do” Clarke nodded

 

“I hope you told her what to expect from me”

 

“I never know what to expect from you so how can I put that into words?” Clarke asked with a chuckle

 

“Oh funny, you’ve really picked up on your sarcasm since I was away”

 

“Well you have been away for 6 months and we didn’t get to skype that much”

 

“It’s hard to get a signal sometimes in the South American jungle” Raven shrugged “But you seem really happy”

 

“I’m really happy” Clarke nodded again with a smile spreading over her lips “She is really great”

 

“She’s hot too” Raven commented “A personal trainer who is a total babe in pictures…that are all over your Facebook and Instagram pages”

 

“Pictures can’t really do her justice”

 

“It’s just a nice change from what I left 6 months ago” Raven said honestly “I wanted to actually murder that boy for breaking your heart like he did”

 

“Well Lexa has more than made up for that” Clarke replied “But he showed up here last night, while Lexa was here”

 

“I’m sorry, I thought you just said he was here last night” Raven said with wide eyes “I misheard that, right?”

 

“I wish you did” Clarke sighed “He showed up to apologize”

 

“I hope you kicked his ass” Raven grumbled “He had the nerve to come here?”

 

“To make things worse, Lexa was sitting right here as he was at the door and heard him. I didn’t know whether she was going to punch him in the face or whether she was going to react badly”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Yeah and she freaked out”

 

“I don’t blame the girl” Raven shook her head

 

“No I don’t either” Clarke replied “I just felt so bad for her”

 

“Is everything okay with you guys?” Raven asked “What happened?”

 

“Well I told Finn to leave and Lexa was in my room about to take her stuff from my room before I managed to get through to her” Clarke recounted “She’s really guarded so she just assumed that I would see Finn and then just take him back”

 

“There was a time that you probably would have though” Raven said “Honestly, would you have thought about it if Lexa wasn’t in your life?”

 

“Well I don’t know what my life would be like right now without Lexa in it but I would never even entertain the fact of taking Finn back” Clarke shook her head with a frown

 

“I like this Clarke” Raven said with a proud smile

 

“I’m the same Clarke”

 

“Yeah but you’re more confident now” Raven said “You stand up for yourself a bit more now, more assertive. I like it”

 

“I’m glad you think so”

 

“So she has clothes here huh?” Raven asked with a smirk

 

“She’s here all the time” Clarke shrugged “Just seemed like the logical thing to do”

 

“I think I need to join your gym” Raven replied as she laughed “Then I’ll throw myself off a treadmill and see who comes to see if I’m okay”

 

“Oh my god” Clarke groaned as she covered her eyes with her free hand “Stop”

 

\---

 

Lexa’s workshop ended up going overtime, which meant that she and Lincoln were a little late for dinner.

 

Lincoln arrived before Lexa did, assuring Clarke that Lexa would be there soon and she was.

 

She stood at the door of the restaurant, waiting to ask the hostess where her table was as she dealt with another couple.

 

Running a hand through her wavy hair with a sigh, she looked around the dimly lit room before her eyes landed on Clarke.

 

Her expression lifted and her shoulders shifted upright from a slouch as she caught Clarke’s attention.

 

Clarke stood from the table quickly, walking out to take the other girls hand and moved towards the table again.

 

“Sorry I’m late” Lexa mumbled as she sat down next to Clarke at the end of the table

 

“That’s okay” Clarke said leaning over to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek “How was the workshop?”

 

“Like pulling teeth but it’s done now” Lexa nodded as she looked around the table with a smile as everyone greeted her

 

“Okay, Clarke was right when she said that your photos didn’t do you any justice” Raven said as she made Bellamy shift places with her so she could sit across from the trainer “And I would know because Clarke here has posted so many”

 

“You must be Raven” Lexa said with a nod

 

“And you’re Lexa” Raven responded

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you” Lexa replied happily “So it’s nice that I finally get to meet you”

 

“It’s nice to meet you too” Raven said before gesturing to Clarke “Especially since you have made this one so happy”

 

“I don’t think I can compete with what she’s given to me” Lexa answered quietly as she felt Clarke’s hand on her knee under the table

 

“Now that I’m back though, I probably will be stealing your girlfriend from time to time”

 

“As long as you return her, I’m okay with that” Lexa joked

 

“Okay and that’s enough of talking about me like I’m property in front of me” Clarke chimed in playfully

 

“So you’re a personal trainer, huh?” Raven asked leaning forward

 

“Yeah, I manage the gym as well as train from there” Lexa nodded

 

“Do you have security cameras in your gym?” Raven asked after a wry smile appeared on her face

 

“Yeah…why?” Lexa asked raising her eyebrow

 

“Please tell me you can look back at the footage of Clarke’s little tumble”

 

“You know I don’t think we actually can” Lexa replied, her expression now matching Raven’s “And anyway; if I showed anyone that, Clarke wouldn’t talk to me for weeks”

 

“That’s correct” Clarke nodded with a frown “Raven, you’re supposed to be on my side here”

 

“I am best buddie” Raven laughed “I’ve just had 6 months of not being able to pick on you”

 

“So where did you go?” Lexa asked

 

“South America and let me tell you it was the best thing I have ever done in my entire life” Raven said “It opened my eyes up, that’s for sure”

 

“Sounds like an adventure” Lexa nodded with a small smile

 

“Clarke” Bellamy said cautiously, glancing behind them at the restaurant door

 

Clarke turned around and saw Finn, looking directly at her with his hands in his pockets

 

“How does he even know we are here?” Clarke asked

 

“I’ll get rid of him” Raven said standing

 

“I think I’ll come and help” Lexa mumbled as her jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed looking at the boy

 

“No, it has to come from me” Clarke sighed “Or he won’t leave”

 

“You’re going to go and talk to him?” Raven asked

 

“It’s the only way I can get rid of him” Clarke said before turning to Lexa “And don’t you dare think that anything he says is going to change how I feel about you, okay?”

 

“Yeah” Lexa nodded as her eyes met Clarke’s

 

“I’m serious” Clarke said firmly “Stay here please and I’ll be right back”

 

Lexa nodded wordlessly as Clarke kissed her quickly before pushing her way out of the restaurant, folding her arms as she got to Finn

 

“What are you doing here?” Clarke asked impatiently as she followed him outside the door “I’m here with my friends and my girlfriend Lexa”

 

“She’s your girlfriend?” Finn asked

  
“Yeah, she is” Clarke nodded

 

“We didn’t get a chance to talk” Finn replied

 

“Because I told you to leave”

 

“I know but I just need to talk to you because if I don’t say this then I will always regret that I didn’t at least try” Finn said taking a step towards Clarke but she immediately backed away

 

“No you don’t get to say anything to me. I came out here to tell you to leave and not bother me anymore. I loved you Finn and you broke my heart” Clarke replied furiously “You cheated on me with someone you worked with and the only thing you regret is being caught, I’m sure”

 

“I made a huge mistake” Finn tried to reason desperately “Clarke you are the only girl I have ever loved”

 

“Well I have feelings for someone else now” Clarke said “And I’m not going to let you ruin…”

 

Clarke was cut off midway through her sentence by Finn’s lips on her own.

 

She was genuinely shocked that he would do that and it didn’t register what exactly was happening.

 

Finn was kissing her. Just like he had done when they were together, he was kissing her.

 

She was confused and she felt sick to her stomach as she brought her hands to his chest, pushing him away with as much force as she could muster.

 

Clarke wasn’t too sure how she let herself do what she did next but she hit him across the face as hard as she could manage, hurting her hand in the process

 

“What the hell Finn?!” Clarke exclaimed “What did you think that was going to happen out of that? Did you think that I was just going to forget all about what you did and all about Lexa when you kissed me?”

 

“I just had to” Finn said as he held his hand over his cheek

 

“I suggest you get out of here before I tell everyone what you just did and they all come out here after you” Clarke growled before turning around to make her way back into the restaurant but pausing when she saw Lexa was missing

 

“Are you okay?” Bellamy asked as he stood from the table

 

“Where’s Lexa?” Clarke asked

 

“She went outside to go and get rid of him” Raven said “She didn’t come back in; I thought she was with you”

 

“She didn’t come back inside?” Clarke asked as her eyes widened

 

“What happened?” Octavia asked

 

“He grabbed me and kissed me, that’s what happened” Clarke said as she rubbed her eyes “And if Lexa went out there then chances are she saw it and left”

 

“Is he still out there?” Bellamy asked looking towards the door

 

“Be my guest and go check but I have to find Lexa” Clarke replied as she grabbed her bag, pulling her keys out

 

Bellamy walked with Clarke outside, there was no sign of Finn but there was also no sign of Lexa.

 

“She probably hates me” Clarke said as she felt the enormity of what just happen hit her

 

“Call her and see if you can track her down” Bellamy said as he hugged his friend quickly “It’ll be okay”

 

“He still out here?” Raven asked as she caught up to her friends

 

“He’s gone” Bellamy shook his head

 

“I kind of hoped he would be out here” Raven admitted “I have some pent up aggression”

 

“She’s not answering” Clarke said as she took her phone away from her ear

 

“Try again” Bellamy said “Go to her apartment, she’s probably gone back there”

 

“Do you want me to come with?” Raven asked

 

“No” Clarke shook her head as she went to her car quickly before hitting Lexa’s contact again

 

“Hey you’ve reached Lexa, I can’t take your call right now but leave a message and I’ll get back to you”

 

“Lexa, I need you to call me back. I just need to know you’re okay. What you saw…he kissed me and I pushed him away. I would never do that to you so please call me back”

 

Clarke drove straight to Lexa’s apartment, knocking on her door loudly as soon as she arrived

 

“Lexa” Clarke called anxiously “I know you probably don’t want to see my right now but he kissed me and I pushed him away”

 

“You okay, Clarke?” She heard Lexa’s neighbor, a sweet middle-aged lady who Clarke really liked and always talked to when she was around

 

“Have you seen Lexa?”

 

“I haven’t seen her but I heard her door slam not too long ago” She shook her head “Everything okay?”

 

“Yeah” Clarke lied with a nod “Thanks”

 

“Okay dear” She said as she shut her door, leaving Clarke out in the hallway by herself

 

“Lexa please” Clarke mumbled as she leaned her forehead against the trainers door as she felt the lump in her throat double in size “I told him to go away and I told him that I wanted you and not him. That’s when he kissed me and I pushed him away, you have to believe me”

 

Clarke waited.

 

She waited for Lexa to open the door with that stubborn look on her face to tell her either to go away or to tell her it was okay.

 

But what she was met with was much worse.

 

She was just met with silence.

 

“I can’t lose you” Clarke shut her eyes tightly, her hands trembled as she pressed her palms into the door “I don’t know what to do without you anymore and I don’t want to lose you”

 

Complete and utter silence

 

She stayed there for 30 minutes; Clarke couldn’t bring herself to leave.

 

She sat down against the door looking out at the hallway feeling numb.

 

Her phone began to ring; she jumped as she felt it vibrate in her back pocket.

 

What hope she had that it was Lexa faded as soon as she saw Raven’s number displayed, she leaned the back of her head on Lexa’s door as she put the phone up to her ear.

 

“Did you find her?”

 

“I don’t know” Clarke mumbled as she brought her free hand to cover her face “I’m sitting outside her apartment now but I don’t even know if she is here”

 

“Where else could she be?”

 

“Anywhere” Clarke shrugged “I have no idea”

 

“Why don’t you just go back to your apartment?” Raven asked “I’ll meet you there and we can think of a plan”

 

“I don’t need a plan Raven, I need Lexa” Clarke replied “And now Finn’s gone and screwed this up too”

 

“Well what are you going to do waiting at her apartment?” Raven asked

 

“Her neighbor said that she heard her door slam, she has to be in there” Clarke shook her head “And I just want to make sure she’s okay”

 

“Clarke she saw you kissing your ex boyfriend” Raven replied honestly “Give her some space for the time being”

 

“I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to give her space” Clarke mumbled

 

“Just come back to your apartment and we can figure something out, okay?”

 

“Yeah” Clarke replied with a nod “Yeah, okay”

 

“I’ll see you soon”

 

“Bye”

 

She hung the phone up, closing her eyes tightly as she exhaled deeply before standing

 

“I’m going to come back” Clarke said “You’re too important to me to just let you disappear. If I have to prove to you that to you then I will because I’m not giving up”

 

With that she rubbed her eyes and sluggishly returned to her own apartment where Raven was waiting for her.

 

\---

 

She didn’t get much sleep that night because every time she leaned over to Lexa’s side, all she felt was the cool sheets and a hollow in her chest.

 

She called in sick for work; she knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway.

 

Clarke knew that Lexa would be in the gym that morning so she decided to take the risk and go.

 

She didn’t go inside, she didn’t know how Lexa was going to react to her so she didn’t want to take her personal life into her work place, she respected Lexa too much for that.

 

At 7:30am Clarke stood by Lexa’s car, shivering as the cold wind ripped through the air but Clarke didn’t care.

 

She didn’t care because she saw Lexa push the door open heavily, pausing as she saw Clarke.

 

She stopped, like she thought to turn right around and go straight back in but she didn’t.

 

Her jaw tightened and she tugged on her jacket tightly, braving the walk to her car.

 

“Why are you here?” Lexa asked stiffly

 

“Because you weren’t returning any of my calls” Clarke replied shaking her head “Or texts”

 

“That’s because I don’t want to talk to you, Clarke” Lexa shook her head

 

“Were you home last night?”

 

“I heard you at my door” Lexa gave her a brief nod

 

“And you just let me sit there?”

 

“How would you feel, seeing the woman you consider yourself falling for kissing her ex boyfriend?” Lexa asked

 

“ _He_ kissed _me_ ”

 

“But you didn’t push him away straight away” Lexa retorted

 

“I was in shock!” Clarke exclaimed

 

“Have you considered that I just don’t want to talk to you right now?” Lexa snapped “That’s why I’m not returning your calls or attempting to message you back?”

 

“I know you don’t want to talk to me right now but we’re in a relationship” Clarke replied “You can’t just shut yourself off”

 

“I knew this would happen. My dad always told me that love was weakness”

 

“Love is weakness?” Clarke asked raising her eyebrows “So what, you just shut yourself off and not care about anyone from now on?”

 

“Maybe” Lexa answered

 

“I don’t believe you can do that”

 

“I went against my better judgment and I let someone in after I had just finally repaired my heart” Lexa said looking to Clarke again

 

“Lexa you aren’t listening to me, I pushed him away after he kissed me and I wanted nothing to do with it” Clarke said desperately as she took a step forward but Lexa stayed firm, holding her hand out

 

“Don’t”

 

“So what, you just want to throw the last 4 months away?” Clarke asked “Like it never happened”

 

“I saw the kiss Clarke. Whether you admit it to yourself or not, you didn’t push him away as soon as it happened” Lexa growled “You could have moved away but you didn’t and that is enough reason for me”

 

“Fine” Clarke snapped as she backed up from Lexa “You are so scared of how you feel that you’re just willing to throw this away. You are a coward Lexa and you can’t just run away from your feelings or shut down every time something happens”

 

Clarke turned around before Lexa could say anything in response, mostly because she felt the sting of tears in her eyes and the sensation of her heart breaking.

 

She didn’t look back to see Lexa’s eyes trained on the ground where Clarke had just been standing, her eyes just as glassy

 

\---

It had been 4 days.

 

4 _miserable_ days of silence between the couple

 

“I don’t know what to do” Clarke said just above a whisper as she shook her head aimlessly, looking out of her window into the cloudy night sky “I don’t know how to get through to her when she won’t listen to me and the worst part is that she’s completely right”

 

“What are you talking about?” Raven asked as she wrapped her arm around her best friend

 

“I could have pushed Finn away sooner”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I got lost for a second” Clarke replied “I got lost because I didn’t know what was happening but as soon as I realized, I pushed him away”

 

“You know what Lexa is like though” Lincoln chimed in from the other side of the room “I have never met someone so guarded in my life”

 

“But she’s not like that with me” Clarke said “And I don’t even know if we are together anymore”

 

“Do you want to be?” Octavia asked

 

“More than anything”

 

“Then we need a plan to get her back” Raven said

 

“We need a great plan” Octavia replied

 

“No you need something better than a great plan” Lincoln spoke “I have never seen her so angry. She’s been coming into work for the past 4 days since it happened with a black cloud hanging over her head. She’s train her clients with minimal contact and then leave without saying anything to anyone”

 

“All the more reason for this to work then” Raven said before turning to Clarke “So where do we start?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay…please don't hate me. Let me know what you think! I have a plan though, I promise! Just hold tight! Please stick with me. 
> 
> I know this chapter went very differently to what a few of you thought was going to happen but I wanted to show the insecure side of Lexa through this and the strong side of Clarke. I kind of just wanted to show that her past scars had really gotten to a point that she didn't even realise just how insecure she was. She had her heart ripped out in the past and that's not something you can forget.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all you guys have just blown me away with your comments. I really appreciate any kind of feedback I get so thank you so much for taking the time to let me know what you thought. 
> 
> Secondly I'm slightly scared of how this chapter will be received so I hope you like it! 
> 
> The editing may not be the best this chapter, I really should be getting ready to go to soccer but I wanted to post today so I apologise!

It had been 5 days since Lexa had walked out of the restaurant to see Clarke kissing her ex. 

 

4 days since Clarke had shown up outside the gym after her work out that morning.

 

1 day since Clarke last tried calling and 6 hours since she had sent Lexa the last text message.

 

Lexa had listened to her voicemails and she had read her texts, she could hear the desperation in Clarke’s voice.

 

At some point Lexa knew she was going to have to completely confront the situation but she didn’t know when she would be ready to do that.

 

Her heart was broken.

 

Her father had always told her that she shouldn’t show her feelings to her enemy; she shouldn’t show them that they have hurt her.

 

The only problem Lexa had with that theory was that Clarke was not her enemy.

 

Lexa _loved_ Clarke.

 

She _loved_ the blonde haired, blue eyed, soft-spoken, kind hearted, talented, frustrating, astounding girl.

 

She knew she loved Clarke the moment she looked at her up on the top of the hiking trail.

 

She saw the wind sweep through her hair and the smile on Clarke’s face as she made a joke.

 

She just couldn’t find the courage to tell her.

 

It hit her on the face like a fist to her cheek.

 

Lexa also knew that Clarke had loved her.

 

She wasn’t sure whether Clarke was ready to say it to her or not but she knew she did.

 

Lexa was beyond furious with Clarke because everything she saw reminded her of the artist.

 

As she sat in her office during an evening shift she looked up at the painting she had bought of Clarke’s, which was the biggest reminder of her possible.

 

Nothing was ever going to compare to what she felt for her, Lexa knew that but she didn’t know how to go back to what they were before Finn.

 

Lexa didn’t know if she could tell herself to move on from that.

 

It wasn’t a question of whether Clarke wanted Lexa, she made it painfully obvious that she wanted nothing to do with Finn.

 

It was whether Lexa could let Clarke in again after shutting her out so quickly, building so many walls after she had taken them all down to protect herself.

 

And Lexa wasn’t naïve; it was also whether Clarke could forgive her for acting how she did.

 

What Lexa did was a defense mechanism she had learnt years ago, one that she used to get through what happened with Costia.

 

She shut herself down to anyone and pulled away before she could get hurt any further.

 

Clarke had hurt her so in that moment, she wanted to hurt Clarke back so that she wouldn’t want anything to do with her.

 

If Clarke didn’t want anything to do with her then maybe Lexa wouldn’t remember how much she cared about the girl and how much she actually missed her.

 

Except all Lexa could do was remember.

 

Lexa heard her office door open, not even a knock before the door swung open and interrupted her thoughts.

 

“What are you doing here?” Lexa snapped as she saw Bellamy standing at her office door “How did you even get in here?”

 

“I’m a member of the gym” Bellamy said rolling his eyes “But I didn’t come here to tell you that”

 

“What do you want from me?” She asked as she pushed herself up from her chair

 

“Just so you know, right now, Clarke is trying to think of a plan to get you back. She, Lincoln, Raven and Octavia are all trying to think of a plan to get you back with Clarke” Bellamy said, running a hand through his hair “And I couldn’t sit there any longer and hear one of my best friends be miserable to the point where she hasn’t slept in almost 4 days just because you are too stubborn to actually listen to her”

 

“Do you think this has been easy for me?” Lexa challenged sharply

 

“I don’t know because you have just disappeared” Bellamy said raising his voice slightly before he paused to calm himself down

 

“Did she send you?”

 

“Do you really think she would send me?” He raised his eyebrows

 

“No” The trainer answered simply

 

“I’m telling you right now, if you have any doubt…which I don’t think you do but Clarke has no feelings for Finn. He kissed her and she pushed him away, it’s as simple as that” Bellamy said as she spoke in a voice full of conviction “Nothing else has happened and nothing else will ever happen between those two again because Clarke can’t even function without you anymore. By the looks of it, you can’t function without her either”

 

“I have insomnia”

 

“Don’t lie” Bellamy snapped “Listen, I didn’t come here to argue with you. I happen to actually really like you because you have made my best friend happy. So you can be stupid and stubborn and just keep on ignoring Clarke until she does actually give up on you. Or you can suck it up, admit that you have both made a mistake here and talk to her because everyone knows that you two are both head over heals for each other”

 

Lexa’s jaw tightened again, her eyes ablaze.

 

She didn’t know whether she wanted to hit Bellamy for insulting her or whether to hug him for giving her an ego check.

 

Much like when she gave him one the first time he came into the gym.

 

“And if you have any doubt in your mind that she doesn’t see Finn or anyone else, just you” Bellamy said as he threw down a sketch book onto her desk “Then have a look through this. You can take it or leave it but if you walk away from her then you know it’s on you now”

 

Bellamy didn’t say another word; he shook his head furiously and disappeared from the room as soon as he had appeared.

 

Lexa stood looking down at the sketchbook that Bellamy had left on her desk.

 

Her heart was racing and she felt as if she was about to break a sweat after listening to Bellamy.

 

She ran her hand over the cover of the sketchbook before exhaling sharply and opening the first page.

 

Staring right back at her straight away was a sketch of herself, something that she was not expecting.

 

Flipping another page she saw herself again, then again on the page after that. The sketches were more developed and detailed the further Lexa looked.

 

This was how Clarke saw Lexa, how she was presented in front of her on the page was how Clarke saw her and it was more than she ever deserved.

 

The sketches were so detailed, her face strong but her eyes showed such emotion.

 

Lexa didn’t deserve for someone to see her like that.

 

Her strength waivered further when she turned to a sketch of their spot together up the top of Clarke’s apartment building.

 

The trainer traced over the outline of the large moon, running her fingers over the stars in the sky as she admired Clarke’s talent.

 

She realized Clarke would probably be mortified if she knew Lexa was looking at this but Lexa made a note to herself silently to thank Bellamy for showing her this.

 

Lexa knew that she had to stop being stupid and selfish, she wanted Clarke and there was no denying it even if she wanted to.

 

All she was doing now, was wasting time.

 

 “Damn it, Clarke” Lexa mumbled to herself as she closed the sketchbook and grabbed it, along with her keys

 

She walked out of the office before spotting Indra and another trainer

 

“I need you two to cover for me tonight, you guys will be okay without me?”

 

“Everything okay?” Indra asked

 

“It’s fine” Lexa nodded “You’ll be okay?”

 

“Of course” Indra nodded in return quickly

 

Lexa didn’t reply as she moved through reception and towards her car all the while as she tried to dig her car keys from her pocket

 

“You’re Lexa, right?”

 

Her head turned to the right very quickly because she recognized the voice

 

“I just want to talk to you” Finn said with his hands up defensively “I hope that’s okay”

 

“You hope that’s okay?” Lexa asked as she felt a chill run straight through her spine but her blood began to boil and her fist balled up tightly at her side “You come here to _my_ carpark, outside _my_ gym after you kissed _my_ girlfriend?”

 

“I know, it is probably really stupid of me”

 

“What is stupid of you is thinking that you could show up here without me kicking your ass and calling the police for trespassing and all of the trouble you have caused me so you better walk away right now” Lexa seethed before taking a step forward “I mean better yet I might kick your ass either way”

 

“Wait, just wait” Finn replied quickly as he took two steps backwards from Lexa

 

“You had your chance with her and you were stupid enough to cheat on her. You know you made that mistake and I’m not going to let you push me into making a similar mistake, so if that’s what you were hoping for then you are out of luck” Lexa replied quickly “And if you actually cared about her like you say you do, then you would respect that she doesn’t want you around”

 

“You’re right, you are completely right” Finn responded with a nod 

 

“I know I’m right” Lexa snapped

 

“I went about it the wrong way”

 

“You _kissed_ her” She retorted bluntly “Against her wishes”

 

“I know but I just came here to tell you that I’m not going to be a problem anymore, okay?” Finn replied “I’m not what she wants”

 

“Damn right you’re not” Lexa nodded “I may have been shocked when you showed up previously but I can guarantee that if you come back and I see you again, I _will_ kick your ass and I won’t even care where we are”

 

“Understood” Finn mumbled

 

“If you’re quite done then you need to walk away, right now” She growled  

 

\---

 

Lexa paused outside of Clarke’s apartment.

 

She felt sick as she stood looking at the door.

 

Every other time she had been eager to go inside but as she heard voices inside, the sick feeling in her stomach just grew.

 

Truth be told she had been standing there for the past 5 minutes, just trying to gather her courage to knock on the door.

 

But as she stood there, a big white cardboard box in her hand she sighed deeply and knocked on the door lightly before she could change her mind.

 

The voices inside the room hushed slightly as she heard footsteps coming towards the door.

 

Lexa paused as the door opened, though it was Raven who was standing in front of her

 

“Hi” Lexa offered simply

 

“Oh, hi” Raven replied before turning back to Clarke

 

“Can I talk to you, please?” Lexa asked looking over Raven’s shoulder to look directly at Clarke

 

“Yeah” Clarke replied as she stood from the place she had been seated on the floor

 

“We were just leaving anyway” Raven said with a shrug “Right guys?”

 

“Yeah…” Octavia nodded, grabbing Lincoln by the hand “Call me if you need Clarke”

 

“Thank you” Clarke nodded as Lexa watched Raven give Clarke a little nod before pushing past Lexa and her other friends followed

 

Leaving Lexa standing outside the door outside of the apartment and Clarke frozen in her spot

 

“You can come in” Clarke nodded as she tried to steady her voice

 

“Thank you” Lexa said as she pulled the door closed behind her

 

“I don’t really know where to start”

 

“Then let me” Lexa offered as she held the white cardboard box tightly in her hand, like she was float away if she let go “You were right. Everything you said to me the other day was right. I am a coward”

 

“You aren’t a coward” Clarke replied as she rubbed her eyes, exhaling deeply

 

“No, I am. At least when it comes to you”

 

Clarke didn’t say anything; she just waited for the other girl to find the words she was looking for

 

“Pushing you away like I did and ignoring you was wrong, I know that. You just…you hold this power over me that I couldn’t put my finger on for the longest time,something that made me scared and made me a coward because I didn’t know when it happened. I didn’t know how suddenly this sarcastic, clumsy, blonde haired artist carried the power to devastate me” Lexa shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to continue before she could open her eyes again “I don’t believe that love is weakness like my father always told me" 

 

“I know”

 

“I know it doesn’t excuse how I have just ignored you over the past few days but I want to try and explain myself. Bellamy came to the gym earlier and he cut me down to size, pushing me to realise exactly what I needed to do”

 

“Bellamy came to the gym?” Clarke asked with wide eyes

 

“I reacted so badly to what happened because I was preparing myself for the worst. I thought if I acted like I didn’t care, I would save myself some pain. You know how guarded I am and whenever I think something has the potential to hurt me, which is what I thought was happening, I pull away immediately. I try to convince myself that what happened didn’t matter but it did. I know this isn’t an excuse but my whole life I’ve been told I wasn’t good enough and I’ve had to accept it. I’m never going to be good enough for my parents until I do what they want, I haven’t ever been enough for anyone I’ve dated previously” Lexa paused

 

“You can’t keep doing that, comparing me”

 

“I know”

 

“You should have just listened to me, Lexa” Clarke replied “I told you that Finn meant nothing to me anymore and I wanted you. I’ll admit; yes, I did get lost when Finn kissed me because it was familiar and a long time ago, it was safe but I knew it wasn’t what I wanted anymore. I’m really sorry for that, I don’t want to hurt you. I only want you but you can’t keep comparing me to your other relationships. I deserve a fresh start but more importantly, so do you”

 

“I should have listened, you are right” Lexa nodded

 

“I just need you to promise me that you’re not going to keep shutting me out” Clarke replied “I can’t do this if we fight and every time you just completely shut down and ignore me. It isn’t fair. ”

 

“I promise you that it won’t happen again” Lexa said with a firm nod

 

“Then can you please come here because I want this fight to be over with”

 

Lexa nodded, a weight fell off her chest as she placed the white cardboard box in her hands on the coffee table and engulfing the artist in a tight hug.

 

She felt okay again.

 

She felt Clarke wrap her arms around her neck as she tightened her grip on Clarke’s hips, breathing in the scent of Clarke’s hair.

 

“What’s in the box?” Clarke asked as she pulled away from the hug to look down at the coffee table

 

“Black bean chocolate cake” Lexa responded while Clarke opened it “Kind of a peace offering”

 

“You bought a whole cake?” Clarke asked raising her eyebrow

 

“I bought two, the other one is in the car”

 

“Why two?”

 

“Just incase I needed to bribe you with more” Lexa shrugged shyly

 

\---

 

Late that night, they both lay in Clarke’s bed with their limbs tangled under the sheets and their bare bodies holding each other closely.

 

“So you put your finger on it?” Clarke asked

 

“I what?” Lexa asked tiredly, turning her head to look at the artist as the moonlight illuminated her eyes

 

“When you first came here, you told me that you realized why I scared you so much, that you finally put your finger on it. You said you realised why you had just recoiled so quickly but you never said it”

 

“I didn’t say it on purpose” Lexa said simply “It wasn’t right to come up during an argument”

 

“Okay” Clarke nodded “I mean if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to”

 

“I realized that I love you” Lexa said quickly

 

“Oh”

 

“That’s why I’m scared of how you make me feel, because I love you”

 

“You just said you loved me” Clarke replied with a grin “You the tough, emotionally unavailable at times trainer just said to little old me that you love me”

 

“I did” Lexa nodded with a smile as she watched Clarke grin widely

 

“I love you too” Clarke replied quietly, reaching out to touch Lexa’s cheek gently

 

“I know you do” Lexa nodded once more before tilting her chin slightly so she could kiss Clarke delicately

 

“You do, huh?” Clarke pulled back so she could look her girlfriend in the eyes

 

“When Bellamy came by to talk some sense into me he gave me a sketch book”

 

“He gave you…” Clarke began until her eyes widened “I’m going to kill him”

 

“No, you can’t kill him” Lexa said “I owe him for coming by and putting me in my place. I saw your sketches and they were amazing. You see me in a completely different light as to how I see myself and I don’t know how I am lucky enough for that to happen”

 

“So you saw all of them?” Clarke sighed “It probably makes me look like a stalker”

 

“Not at all” Lexa shook her head before kissing her girlfriend once more “You just are more than I deserve”

 

“I don’t think so” Clarke said in a scratchy voice “Please tell me you have the day off tomorrow”

 

“I do” Lexa replied with a nod

 

“I want you to come to lunch with Raven, Octavia and I tomorrow” Clarke said “Just the girls”

 

“Are you sure they want me to go?”

 

“Why wouldn’t they?”

 

“Because I just shut you out for the past 4 days” Lexa replied

 

“They understand” Clarke said with a sigh “So?”

 

“If you want me to” Lexa nodded

 

\---

 

Lexa pulled up to the restaurant she and Clarke were meeting her friends, parking close to the entrance.

 

“I told you we’d be late” Lexa said as she unclicked her seatbelt

 

“Yeah but it was worth it” Clarke said with a smirk, leaning over to Lexa’s side of the car so she could kiss her quickly

 

“Oh it was totally worth it” Lexa replied in a dazed tone as she opened her car door so she could get out

 

Lexa took Clarke’s hand in hers as soon as she met her around the other side of the car.

 

They made their way into the restaurant, finding Octavia and Raven already seated and looking at menus

 

“Sorry we’re late” Clarke said as she sat next to Raven and Lexa took her seat besides Octavia

 

“I would just like to say that it wasn’t my fault”

 

“It’s okay, I mean if you can’t enjoy make up sex then what’s the point of fighting” Raven shrugged with a wide smile

 

Her smile only grew as Lexa’s expression turned to a smirk and blush, all at the same time.

 

“I knew it” Octavia exclaimed “I knew that’s why you were late”

 

“Guys” Clarke scolded lightly

 

“No I think it’s great” Raven said honestly “I’m just glad you both realized you were being stupid”

 

“Why don’t we talk about something else” Clarke replied

 

“Let’s talk about how we’re all going camping next weekend” Octavia said leaning forward hopefully “Yay”

 

“When was this decided?” Clarke asked raising her eyebrow

 

“Lincoln wants to go camping again next weekend and I thought it would be way more fun if we went as a group”

 

“Well I’m in” Raven shrugged “Maybe I can meet some mountain man or something while we are out there”

 

“I’ve got a lot to do next week” Clarke said in an unsure tone

 

“Then just work late during the week and get it done so you’re free for the weekend” Octavia said furrowing her eyebrows

 

“I _am_ supposed to have next weekend off again” Lexa said looking to her girlfriend “It could be fun?”

 

“See, Lexa’s in” Octavia turned to Clarke with expectant eyes

 

“I am going to have to work late”

 

“Well we’ll all come in and help you” Octavia said

 

“No we won’t” Raven scoffed as Clarke nudged her roughly “What? I don’t know how to help you in your job”

 

“I’ll work it out” Clarke nodded

 

“Yes you will” Octavia smiled “This will be lots of fun. We can sit by the camp fire, tell scary stories, go hiking”

 

“Well it’s fine for you guys but I’m just going to be a constant third wheel” Raven pointed out with a huff

 

“Bellamy will be there” Octavia said with a shrug

 

“Ew gross, no” Raven screwed her face up

 

“You’ve slept with him before” Clarke replied raising her eyebrows

 

“You what?!” Octavia exclaimed before she laughed

 

“I was very, very drunk and we just decided to not talk about it ever again” Raven said “So thanks, Clarke”

 

“I can’t believe Octavia didn’t know” Clarke chuckled as her eyes glanced back to Lexa who had her eyes locked on her

 

Lexa could feel herself smiling as she looked towards Clarke in adoration, bringing out a soft expression that Clarke only displayed when she looked at her girlfriend.

 

“I want that” Raven said as she brought her elbows to the table so she could rest her chin on her hands to look between the couple “How you two look at each other”

 

“Stop staring” Clarke said as her smile only grew and a blush crept up on her neck “You’ll embarrass Lexa”

 

“Oh yeah, me” Lexa rolled her eyes

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought! 
> 
> From what I've planned, I only have 2 chapters left of this story so hopefully you enjoy the rest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your comments and kudos, you all make me smile like a crazy person. 
> 
> Notes at the bottom! Happy Reading! :)

Clarke fell asleep about halfway to the campgrounds in the passenger seat of Lexa’s car.

 

It had been a long week for both of them and they hadn’t really had the chance to see each other much.

 

Lexa was busy taking classes and clients for Indra while she was away for the week and Clarke had been putting her last minute preparations in for the showcase.

 

Like she had said she would have to do, Clarke stayed back late every night that week just so she could take the weekend off.

 

Lexa had found herself taking dinner to Clarke most nights that week when she could and going back to Clarke’s apartment and waiting there for her.

 

She vaguely remembered waking up just past midnight when Clarke would slip quietly into bed and pull her into her tired arms.

 

Lexa would shift herself so she could snuggle into her girlfriend, feeling Clarke’s chest rise slowly against her back as she fell asleep quickly.

                     

The trainer smiled to herself as her eyes glanced from the road to Clarke; she was leaned her head against the window and was sleeping soundly.

 

She had a moment of what she could only describe as breathlessness.

 

Her chest felt tight and her thoughts had never been clearer, she knew she had never felt like she had before in that moment.

 

Clarke Griffin had managed to steal her heart swiftly and it came at a time that Lexa didn’t expect.

 

“You should probably watch the road” Raven said quietly as she leaned forward in the backseat behind Lexa “You know, if you want us to live and stuff”

 

“Right” Lexa nodded as her hands gripped the wheel tightly, her attention focusing back on the road

 

“Are you sure you don’t need a map?”

 

“I went to this camping ground with my parents for a week every summer until I was 17” Lexa explained with a shrug

 

“Well I’m sticking with you then” Raven replied “Know any place I can go and find hot campers?”

 

“That depends; do you want the male or female camping spots?” Lexa asked raising her eyebrows with a smirk as she looked back at Raven in the revision mirror quickly

 

“There’s a spot for both?” Raven asked with her eyes wide

 

“No, you won’t find anyone even close to us at the camp ground at this time of year because we are going to freeze our asses off” Lexa replied “And the land is pretty huge, people tend to space themselves out but if I spot a hot camper, I’ll direct them to you”

 

“At least you have someone to keep you warm” Raven sighed dramatically as she sat back in her seat with her arms crossed

 

“Hey” Lexa began sympathetically “I mean you slept with Bellamy once, right?”

 

“No!” Raven exclaimed with a smile “No, you don’t get to tease me. You are Clarke’s girlfriend and you are not allowed to tease me about that”

 

“Sorry” Lexa grinned

 

“I was drunk and he was just there” Raven replied, making a disgusted face “He’s like my brother”

 

“Apparently not”

 

“Despite you mentioning Bellamy, I’m really glad you are coming this weekend and that you two fixed everything”

 

“Me too” Lexa nodded “I know I was being stupid and defensive”

 

“We all knew that” Raven replied “But I’m glad you realized because this one here is so far gone that it’s probably crazy. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time, I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen her this happy”

 

“I’m exactly the same” Lexa replied as she exhaled deeply

 

“And she deserves the best” Raven replied

 

“And that’s what I’ll try and give” Lexa added without missing a beat

 

“Good” Raven said “At least you and I can bond over the fact that she fell off a treadmill too. You’d get more points from me though if you could show me the footage”

 

“That’s not worth the pain I’d be put through” Lexa chuckled to herself as she pulled into the camp ground “It was pretty funny though”

 

The car rolled to a gentle stop as Lexa parked next to where Lincoln, Octavia and Bellamy had stopped.

 

 Raven got out of the car immediately, stretching her arms in the air and shaking her legs after the long trip.

 

“We’re here?” Lexa heard a raspy Clarke mumble

 

“We sure are sleepyhead” Lexa replied with a smile, turning to the blonde “You’re a little cute when you fall asleep in the car but you’re terrible company”

 

“I’m sorry” Clarke said with a small smile

 

“I’m kidding” Lexa leaned over to press a gentle kiss on Clarke’s cheek before a hand reached over to touch the blonde’s thigh lightly “Ready to camp?”

 

“I hope so”

 

\---

 

As Lexa had predicted, they were the only ones at the camping ground that they could see.

 

The ground was cold and the leaves were falling from the trees as winter approached very quickly.

 

“So why did you decide to go camping this weekend?” Bellamy asked as he pulled out his tent from its bag “And not when it’s summer?”

 

“It was the only time my parents could come” Lincoln said

 

“Your parents?” Clarke asked raising her eyebrows

 

“Didn’t Octavia tell you?”

 

“Is that why you wanted us to come?” Raven asked laughing loudly “You’re using us as a buffer”

 

“Shut up, Raven” Octavia said as she shoved her friend lightly

 

“Do you have any brothers?” Raven asked

 

“Just a sister” Lincoln replied

 

“That’s more Clarke’s thing” Raven said

 

“You do realize that my girlfriend is putting up your tent, right?” Clarke asked folding her arms and shifting to lean on Raven

 

“Yes, all by myself” Lexa called from inside the tent before popping her head out “Have you all heard the saying many hands make for light work?”

 

“I guess I probably should help” Raven nodded as she approached the tent and stood next to it

 

“Help?” Clarke asked

 

“I’m supervising” Raven shrugged

 

They set up the rest of the camp pretty quickly, Lexa giving everyone a lecture on how they needed to store their food properly because where they were camping was notorious for animals taking things.

 

“So we should light a fire or something” Bellamy said “We can keep it going until tonight”

 

“Great idea, brother” Octavia said with a grin “I’ll go get some firewood”

 

“You can’t yet” Lincoln said quickly before pausing “I mean you should stay here, my parents are about to arrive”

 

“I think that’s why she wanted to go” Raven smirked “Why are you so scared?”

 

“I’m not scared” Octavia scoffed

 

“Why don’t we get firewood” Lexa suggested “I think it might rain soon so we should see if we can get some dry wood to keep for later”

 

“I’ll go with” Clarke suggested

 

“I’m not third wheeling, I’ll stay here” Raven replied “Plus I want to see Octavia meeting the parents”

 

Lexa laughed quietly to herself as she held out her hand for Clarke, who took it quickly and intertwined their fingers.

 

“So you seem to know what you are doing with this whole camping thing” Clarke said after a few minutes of silence as they walked

 

“Well my dad is a Commander” Lexa shrugged “He sent me to survival camps, we always went camping when I was younger and I will admit that I was a girl scout when I was younger”

 

“You were a girl scout?!” Clarke asked with wide eyes “That is amazing”

 

“You _can’t_ tell anyone” Lexa replied turning back to her girlfriend “Especially Raven”

 

“I won’t” Clarke laughed “That’s so cute though”

 

“It is not cute” Lexa replied quickly

 

“So you came here with your parents?” Clarke asked

 

“You heard that?” Lexa asked as she stepped over a log, pulling Clarke with her

 

“I was drifting in and out of sleep”

 

“Yeah, every summer” Lexa said “So it was a bit more lively and warm but yeah”

 

“Yeah I think we are going to freeze tonight” Clarke nodded

 

“You and I won’t freeze” Lexa said quietly as she paused quickly

  
“What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing, I’m just trying to retrace my steps”

 

“To where?”

 

“Remember how I asked if you were going to kill me in your kitchen that one time?” Lexa asked turned back to Clarke with a straight face before a smile tugged at her lips as she shook her head “I actually want to show you something”

 

“You want to show me something?” Clarke asked

 

“Yes and I think you’ll like it” Lexa said with a nod before she continued walking, pulling the artist behind her “So did you bring your work phone with you?”

 

“I always bring it with me” Clarke nodded “You know that”

 

“Is your client boyfriend going to call?”

 

“Well even if he does, I doubt I am getting any reception out here”

 

“I knew it was around here” Lexa said as she let go of Clarke’s hand, taking a few steps forward as she pushed through a few tree branches and disappeared from Clarke’s view

 

Clarke followed behind Lexa pretty quickly, pausing as she reached the other side of the trees to look out at a steep valley of green.

 

 It was cloudy so she couldn’t see a lot but knew just how breathtaking it would be when it was clear.

 

“Wow”

 

That was all Clarke could say and Lexa smiled in satisfaction as she saw the look of wonder on her face.

 

Lexa moved to the edge of the ridge, sitting down as her feet dangled over the space below

 

“Is that safe?”

 

“I’ve sat here for years and never had a problem” Lexa nodded “And there’s a ledge under me so if I fall, I’m okay”

 

“You sure?”

 

“Come here and find out” Lexa said “And you know I wouldn’t do anything to put you in danger considering you struggle to stand straight sometimes”

 

“Remember how you thought that I was going to push you off my roof that night too?” Clarke joked as she sat down next to Lexa, who wrapped her arm around Clarke’s waist tightly

 

“You wouldn’t push me, you like me too much” Lexa said, leaning her head against Clarke’s shoulder

 

“I don’t like you” Clarke mumbled before pressing a kiss to Lexa’s hair “I love you”

 

“I love you too” Lexa spoke quietly as she felt Clarke rest her head on her own “I’m glad Octavia wanted to come camping, I think this is just what we needed”

 

“Thank you for making me” Clarke agreed “So how did you find this place?”

 

“I kind of just stumbled upon it one day” Lexa replied “This is my roof spot. Where I think it’s okay for me to get a little lost”

 

“That takes 3 hours to get to” Clarke noted

 

“Yeah I can’t come to it as often as you can go to yours” Lexa smiled to herself before sighing “I’ve camped here a lot but I’ve never shown anyone this”

 

“Well thank you” Clarke replied “So I’m thinking that after this whole showcase is done, we should go somewhere”

 

“Where would you like to go?”

 

“I don’t know, I just think a week away with you would be perfect” Clarke replied “That way I can actually see you while you’re awake”

 

“That would be nice” Lexa laughed “Not that I don’t love waking up with you”

 

“What do you think?”

 

“Well Indra did just take the week off” Lexa pondered “But I do have a lot of a lot of overtime”

 

“We both do” Clarke nodded while placing her hand on Lexa’s knee “Which is why I think we need a break”

 

“We _should_ do something” Lexa agreed

 

“Right now though, should we be getting firewood?” Clarke asked

 

“Yeah, probably” Lexa sighed deeply

 

“Thank you for showing me this” Clarke said “It’s beautiful”

 

“A beautiful view for a beautiful girl” Lexa joked

 

“Come on”

 

Clarke stood slowly, helping Lexa up with her.

 

The blonde moved to walk away but Lexa stopped her gently, grabbing her wrist and tugging her back.

 

Lexa pressed her forehead to Clarke’s, closing her eyes as she held the other girl close

 

“Do you think we can stay missing for just a few minutes longer?”

 

“Depends what for” Clarke whispered quietly before she closed the gap between their lips and kissed Lexa with purpose

 

Lexa’s hands grasped Clarke’s hips tightly, holding her as close as she could manage.

 

She exhaled into Clarke’s lips before a faint crack of thunder in the distance broke them apart.

 

“Come on, we actually need to get this dry wood before it rains too much” Lexa replied “You’re just too distracting. Maybe we shouldn’t be on firewood duty”

 

“Possibly not” Clarke chuckled

 

\---

 

“So I take it that firewood is _really_ hard to find in the woods judging by the time you took” Raven said after Clarke and Lexa returned

 

“Well if you would have come with, you would know” Clarke countered

 

“No I had way too much fun here” Raven grinned before pointing to Octavia standing with Lincoln and who the girls had guessed were Lincoln’s parents by another, larger tent “I have never seen her squirm so much”

 

“Well I don’t blame her” Lexa shrugged turning to Raven “I was scared when I met Clarke’s parents”

 

“That would have been a bit cute though” Raven replied looking to Clarke “What does Abby think of your girl?”

 

“They thought she was wonderful” Clarke said kissing Lexa on the cheek quickly

 

“Is anyone else worried about that massive cloud headed this way?” Bellamy asked as he came out of his tent “They just issued a storm warning”

 

“Well my tent isn’t going anywhere” Raven said pointing to Lexa “G.I Jane put it together for me”

 

“Depends how strong the storm is” Lexa sighed “What a great weekend for camping”

 

“Can’t say it’s not adventurous” Clarke shrugged

 

“Well if mine blows away then I am staying in with you guys” Raven replied

 

“What did you do when you were camping in the jungle?” Lexa asked turning to Raven 

 

“I put my tent together” Raven nodded

 

“So…why couldn’t you do it here?”

 

“It was a friendship test, you passed” Raven said with a winning grin “And I knew there was a storm coming so I thought you might do a better job after you told me you came here until you were 17”

 

Lexa furrowed her eyebrows before they heard another crack of thunder, this time it was much louder and closer than before.

 

Before they could do anything else, heavy rain began to fall and a strong gust of wind swept across the campsite.

 

“Great” Raven sighed

 

“If it gets bad, we’ll get into the car but it’s probably best that we stay put” Lexa spoke loudly above the rain

 

She looked over to Lincoln and Octavia; they were taking refuge with his parents.

 

Raven had rushed into her own tent and Bellamy was nowhere to be seen.

 

She felt Clarke pull her into their tent, zipping it up before collapsing on her sleeping bag

 

“This is exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday” Lexa grumbled as she placed her hands over her stomach, looking up at the top of their tent as the rain pelted down  

 

“Well it kind of is” Clarke replied, lifting one knee over Lexa’s waist to sit on her hips “I mean at least we have each other in here”

 

“You do have a point. You do make camping better” Lexa nodded as she lifted herself to prop herself up on her elbows “Perfect meeting for Octavia and Lincoln’s parent’s huh?”

 

“That is not what we should be talking about right now” Clarke said shaking her head as she inched herself closer to the brunette

 

“Clarke Griffin, you have just read my mind again” Lexa chuckled

 

Before Clarke knew what was happening though, she felt arms behind her back and Lexa rolled them both over so she could be straddling Clarke’s hips

 

“And you too can have that core control” Lexa chuckled before capturing Clarke’s lips with her own in a fierce kiss

 

\---

 

The storm lasted a good few hours.

 

After the first hour, they found Raven and Bellamy bursting into their tent without much warning.

 

“So I think Octavia owes us for going through this for her” Raven said

 

“I agree” Bellamy nodded “And so does Lincoln”

 

“Well he doesn’t really owe us” Clarke shrugged “It was Octavia’s idea”

 

“Come on” Lexa said as she popped her head outside of the tent “We should probably clean up and use the dry wood for a fire before it gets dark”

 

“And food” Raven nodded

 

“And food” Lexa agreed

 

Everyone emerged from their tents, Clarke and Lexa finally meeting Lincoln’s parents as they cleaned up their area after the storm.

 

“Who’s got the matches?” Lexa asked

 

“They’re in the bag over by the car” Bellamy said as he paused “That was left out in the rain”

 

“Are they the only matches we have?” Clarke asked

 

“I think so” Lincoln nodded

 

“So no fire for us then?” Octavia asked

 

“We need a fire” Lexa replied shaking her head

 

She walked to her car quickly, opening the back door and digging under the driver’s seat

 

Raven turned to Clarke, who only could shrug as they watched Lexa pull out some kind of blue box, opening it up on the roof of her car.

 

“Thank you Commander” Lexa muttered to herself as she pulled out her flint from a survival pack

 

“You just have that in your car?” Raven asked

 

“My dad insists I have one with me” Lexa replied “And he was right”

 

“Give it to me, I’ll do it” Bellamy said holding his hand out once Lexa returned to the middle of the camp ground

 

“No shouldn’t we just let Lexa do it?” Octavia asked looking around

 

“Be my guest” Lexa said with a smirk, tossing the flint to Bellamy

 

Lexa sat with Bellamy for a good 15 minutes as he tried to use the flint against the tinder and it would smoke but a fire wasn’t starting

 

“So I’m about 3 minutes from stealing Lexa’s keys and driving out of here” Clarke said in a frustrated tone “Bellamy, it’s getting dark and I’m freezing. Let someone else do it”

 

“I can do it”

 

“Your ego is showing” Raven chimed in as she sat down next to them “I can start a fire, give it to me. I need something to use for tinder though”

 

“Use this” Lexa said pulling out dry grass and leaves from her pocket, holding it in her hand “I found this earlier while we were walking”

 

“And you didn’t give this to me because?” Bellamy asked

 

“I’m not going to lie, I was going to but then it was just too amusing” Lexa replied with a light chuckle

 

Bellamy couldn’t argue with the girls for much longer, considering Raven managed to get the fire started almost immediately.

 

With some care, it grew and was placed into the fire pit that was soon keeping them all warm.

 

\---

 

Lexa emerged from her tent after dinner, pulling a blanket with her and wrapping it around Clarke’s shoulders.

 

“Thank you” Clarke said looking up to Lexa with a small smile, taking Lexa’s hand and kissing it gently

 

Lexa returned the smile before going back to her spot on the other side of the fire next to Lincoln.

 

She took a moment, she couldn’t help but smile as she looked around at people she considered to be her friends now.

 

Thanks to Clarke, Lexa had opened up and really started trusting people enough to call them a friend.

 

She cared for them more than she let anyone think but she had a feeling Clarke already knew.

 

Lexa’s eyes gravitated to her girlfriend who was laughing at something Raven and Bellamy were saying and she paused.

 

 Her arms tugged at the blanket on her shoulders, holding it as close to herself as possible and leaning towards Raven slightly.

 

As the fire’s light danced against Clarke’s skin, that feeling hit her again.

 

She felt breathless once more and her chest tightened with adoration and warmth

 

“Do you need some assistance picking yourself up from the floor there?” Lincoln asked as she nudged Lexa gently, bringing her back to reality

 

“I keep doing that” Lexa said as she exhaled “I just get so caught up”

 

“So I’ve noticed” Lincoln nodded with a grin

 

“Can I ask you something?” Lexa asked looking to her friend and co-worker who just nodded and waited for a response “Do you believe in soul mates?”

 

“I don’t know” Lincoln replied quietly before glancing to Octavia “Why?”

 

“I’ve never believed that there was just that one person that you are supposed to meet in the world and they are just meant for you” Lexa said “And then I met Clarke”

 

“Well I can’t tell you for sure but it sounds like you’re in pretty deep there” Lincoln smiled “And that’s a great thing”

 

“And scary” Lexa nodded

 

“You kind of just have to brush that aside though and just jump in” Lincoln replied “You can trust her”

 

“I do” Lexa replied before glancing back to a still laughing Clarke “More than anyone”

 

\---

 

The two girls were lying in bed silently, they were utterly exhausted.

 

They had just returned from camping, Lexa went back to her apartment to wash her clothes before going back to Clarke’s, who she found half asleep under the covers.

 

“That was fun” Clarke said as she brushed a strand of stray brown hair from Lexa’s face as she rested her head on the blonde’s chest

 

“It was pretty fun” Lexa nodded

 

“I’m glad we went”

 

“Me too but I’m pretty happy that we’re back in your warm, dry bed”

 

“So am I” Clarke admitted “I’m really glad you came with though because you had a survival kit in your car”

 

“You were just using me for my survival kit?”

 

“Well I didn’t know you had one but I sure am now” Clarke joked

 

“Happens all the time” Lexa waved her off lazily

 

“If I wasn’t so tired, I’d probably hit you”

 

“You working early tomorrow?” Lexa asked snuggling herself closer into the other girl, gripping the material of Clarke’s shirt tightly over her stomach

 

“I’m going to the gym and then I’ll be working late again” Clarke replied quietly

 

“So your client boyfriend is going to have your affections all week then?” Lexa teased lightly

 

“Only until this weekend and then I am all yours again”

 

“At least I get to see you work out in the mornings” Lexa shrugged

 

“Are you working out tomorrow morning?”

 

“Well actually Raven’s asked me to train her tomorrow morning” Lexa said “So I’m taking her for a session”

 

“You are?” Clarke asked, pausing the circles she had begun rubbing on Lexa’s back

 

“She asked me while we were packing up her tent today” Lexa replied

 

“Don’t make her cry please” Clarke laughed while Lexa felt the artist shake her head

 

“I don’t make people cry when I train them” Lexa said propping herself up on one arm to look Clarke in the eyes “That’s on them”

 

“Thank you for doing that”

 

“What? Making people cry?” Lexa asked raising an eyebrow

 

“No” Clarke laughed “Taking her on as a client. I know you are already really busy and it’s probably eating into your own time”

 

“She’s your best friend, I wouldn’t be a good girlfriend if I said no” Lexa shrugged

 

“Yes you would”

 

“And besides, you have some really great people in your life” Lexa admitted with a small nod and a smile “I mean the only person I have met that you know and I didn’t like was…”

 

“You don’t need to mention him” Clarke shook her head with a sympathetic smile, leaning forward to place a sweet yet chaste kiss on Lexa’s lips “He’s nothing to worry about”

 

“Oh I know that because I told him I would kick his ass if I saw him again”

 

“Wait, you what?” Clarke froze

 

“Did I not tell you?” Lexa asked as she tried to remember who she had told about that incident

 

“No you certainly didn’t” Clarke shook her head “What are you talking about?”

 

“When I came to see you, he was waiting outside the gym because apparently that’s what people do when they need to see me” Lexa replied shaking her head “And I basically just told him that if I saw him again I was going to kick his ass and then call the police. I probably just would have kicked his ass and left the police out of it”

 

“Why was he there?” Clarke asked “Do I need to kick his ass too?”

 

“He finally realized after you hit him and yelled at him that you wanted me, not him” Lexa shook her head before adding sarcastically “It didn’t take him long”

 

“Not long at all” Clarke rolled her eyes

 

“But anyway, your friends are all great and I really like them” Lexa nodded “So they are a bonus that comes with having you around”

 

“Well I can’t take all of the credit, you knew Lincoln on your own”

 

“Small world” Lexa nodded

 

She caught Clarke’s lips in a slow kiss before pulling away with a satisfied sigh.

 

“You’re okay treadmill girl”

 

“Thanks girl scout” Clarke said raising her eyebrows quickly “You’re not too bad yourself”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I would try and make it up to you all with a fluffy chapter. The next chapter will be the last one in this story because my head is kind of running with another Clexa AU story right now that I'll start as soon as I finish this one :) I hope you liked this chapter, let me know what you think! 
> 
> Depending on how much time I have, the last chapter should be up either tomorrow or the next day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I would get this out of the way as soon as it was ready to go! 
> 
> Thank you so much for following this story guys, I have had a great time writing it so I hope you've liked it. Thanks for all the comments and the support, it totally makes the effort worth it. 
> 
> I'll put a little detail of my next story in the notes below, I'm still working it all out :) 
> 
> Let me know what you think of the last chapter!

Clarke stood slowly from the leg press machine

 

Her legs shook as they struggled to hold her bodyweight up so she moved slowly to an empty weights bench.

 

She hadn’t seen Lexa since early that morning, Clarke was working at the gallery and Lexa was doing a few consultations for most of the day.

 

3 weeks had gone by since Clarke’s big gallery showing and it had gone off even better than the young artist showcase.

 

Though the artist she was showcasing was painful and demanding, he made it worth it with all of the attention he brought to the gallery.

 

So much so that Clarke was offered a pretty big opportunity that morning.

 

One of the gallery’s board members wanted to give Clarke her own studio, something that would allow her to work in a larger space than her apartment feeling that she could achieve more of her potential that way.

 

They also wanted her to sell a portion of her work through the gallery.

 

Clarke was blown away; she accepted of course and would be going to see the studio space first thing on Monday.

 

She had a few pieces that she needed to complete for people but she was finally getting to a point that she was really happy within her career.

 

A lot of that happiness was reflected from the girl behind the closed office door in the gym.

 

When Clarke emerged from the changing room after her work out, she noticed that the office door was now open.

 

A smile appeared on her face as she took bigger strides than she probably needed to so she could reach the door as quickly as possible.

 

She hadn’t had the chance to tell Lexa about what had happened that morning and she wanted Lexa to be the very first to know before she told anyone else.

 

Clarke paused though as she reached the office entrance, Lexa was hunched over in her chair, her elbows resting on the desk and her head was ducked.

 

One hand held her head and the other held a phone to her ear as she grumbled something before hanging up and sighing loudly.

 

“You okay?”

 

Lexa jumped slightly, wide eyed looking to Clarke at the door

 

“Sorry” Clarke said sheepishly “Is everything okay?”

 

“That was the Commander” Lexa said raising her eyebrows “You can come in”

 

“Thanks” Clarke replied, stepping in the door and closing it behind her with a light click

 

“He and my mom are coming out this weekend for a conference” Lexa said “Which they didn’t tell me about before now and I have so much to do this weekend”

 

“Well if they have a conference, won’t they be busy too?”

 

“They want to have dinner tomorrow night” Lexa replied “And they want you to come with so they can meet you”

 

“Oh” Clarke said with a slight nod as she moved to edge of Lexa’s desk to sit on the corner

 

“And they didn’t think to let me know beforehand so I could actually prepare you” Lexa said “Or give you time to just think about whether you want to or not”

 

“Well I mean, you’ve met my parents so it’s only fair” Clarke replied with a shrug and a furrowed brow “And it’s not like I’m going anywhere so I might as well meet them now”  

 

“So you do want to come?” Lexa asked in an unsure tone “I mean they are pretty intense”

 

“I would love to” Clarke nodded, reassuring Lexa with a smile “Plus I want to see whether you are just being overdramatic about the Commander”

 

“I’m not” Lexa said simply “I guess I will call them back later and let them know”

 

“Please do” Clarke nodded as she moved to sit on Lexa’s lap, wrapping her arms around the trainers neck “My legs really hurt so I can’t lean on them any longer”

 

“Leg day?” Lexa laughed “I mean it would be more romantic if you just said you missed me today”

 

“Oh I really did miss you” Clarke replied “But that’s not the primary reason I’m sitting on your lap”

 

“I love you” Lexa replied with a shake of her head and a kiss on Clarke’s cheek

 

“I love you too” Clarke said as she kissed the top of Lexa’s head “What time will you be done tonight?”

 

“I just have one more consultation and then I’m done. Apparently people are realizing that summer bodies are made in winter” Lexa nodded “So maybe half an hour or so”

 

“Well why don’t I get us something to eat and I’ll just meet you at my apartment?”

 

“Which reminds me, I had a missed call from my landlord” Lexa sighed “And he only contacts me when something bad happens so I can’t wait to hear about it”

 

“Any idea why he might be calling you?”

 

“My lease runs out soon” Lexa said pressing her forehead to Clarke’s shoulder “And I have a feeling he is going to try and get more money out of me for the exact same apartment. I’ll deal with him when I have time”

 

“Well…” Clarke began to say as they heard a light knock on the door

 

“I won’t be a moment” Lexa called as she kissed the place on Clarke’s shoulder that she had been resting her forehead “I’m sorry, today has been rough”

 

“Tonight will be better when you get home, we can talk about it” Clarke paused “And by home I mean my apartment”

 

“I’ll see you soon” Lexa nodded

 

“Cheer up grumpy pants” Clarke said poking Lexa in the stomach before pressing a quick kiss to Lexa’s lips and standing shakily

 

“I can’t believe you just called me grumpy pants” Lexa replied with a smirk

 

“I did” Clarke nodded as she backed towards the door

 

\---

 

Clarke was sitting on her couch when she heard her door open slowly and the sound of Lexa’s voice

 

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then” Lexa said quietly “No it’s fine, I’ll just switch a few people around and it’ll work”

 

Clarke turned around to see Lexa leaning back against the door with her eyes closed before they opened to meet Clarke’s gaze.

 

She pulled the phone from her ear and smiled lightly

 

“Hey there” Lexa greeted “Sorry I’m a little late”

 

“Not a problem” Clarke shook her head “Everything okay?”

 

“Yeah fine, I just have to leave earlier tomorrow morning than I planned because one of my clients can’t make her scheduled time” Lexa shrugged “She’s really sweet so I thought I would do her a favour”

 

“I see” Clarke nodded with a smirk “Anything I need to worry about?”

 

“Well seeing as she is 65, I don’t think you have anything to worry about” Lexa shook her head before approaching the couch and leaning down to kiss Clarke gently “And no one else could even try to compete with Clarke Griffin”

 

“Glad you see things my way” Clarke joked as she pecked Lexa on the lips once more “You hungry?”

 

“I’m so hungry” Lexa replied with a nod

 

“I have a surprise for you” Clarke stood from the couch to take Lexa’s hand and lead her out of the apartment

 

She walked them up the stairs to the top of the stairwell and pausing to turn to Lexa before she opened the door

 

“I thought you might need this today” Clarke replied

 

Lexa stepped out onto the roof where she saw their two old pool deck chairs sitting pushed together.

 

But everything else was different.

 

There were candles surrounding the perimeter of the chairs and thick blankets sitting folded on top of them.

 

There was a tray of food wrapped in plastic that was sitting on a box next to the chairs and an ipod dock next to that box.

 

“I know it’s cold out here and if it’s too cold then we can go back outside but I thought this could be nice” Clarke shrugged

 

“This is amazing” Lexa said shaking her head

 

“Come on” Clarke said tugging Lexa behind her

 

“This is actually a bit of a fire hazard” Lexa said looking around the chairs as they settled in “It’s beautiful but it’s a fire hazard”

 

“Then it’s a beautiful fire hazard” Clarke rolled her eyes and shrugged pulling the blankets over them “We’ll be fine”

 

“I don’t think anyone has done anything so nice for me” Lexa said turning to her girlfriend “So thank you”

 

“You deserve it” Clarke replied

 

“I don’t know if that’s true but thank you” Lexa nodded

 

“Did you call your landlord back?” Clarke asked as she pulled up the tray of food to sit on her lap, unwrapping the plastic so they could eat

 

“I forgot” Lexa groaned “It’s too late now so I will call him at some stage tomorrow”

 

“Why do you think he’s going to charge you more for your apartment?”

 

“Because he loves money” Lexa said simply with a shrug “And he doesn’t care how he gets it”

 

“Sounds like a jerk”

 

“Yeah but I have lived there for a long time and I love the people in the building” Lexa replied with a shrug “Though sometimes they wonder whether I still live there. Enough about me though, how was work?”

 

“Actually it was really great” Clarke responded “Better than great”

 

“Better than great?” Lexa asked raising an eyebrow “Please tell”

 

“Well I was pulled into the board meeting today at the gallery” Clarke said as her smile grew “And they have a few small art warehouses around the neighbourhood that aren’t being used at the moment. So they want to give one to me so I can move all of my stuff out of the apartment and have more space to work”

 

“What?” Lexa asked with a wide smile that matched her wide eyes “Clarke that is amazing”

 

“And they want me to put some of my work in the gallery to sell” Clarke nodded

 

“Clarke Griffin” Lexa said as she cupped Clarke’s face gently, her thumbs lingering just over the blonde’s cheeks “You deserve that and I am _so_ proud of you”

 

“Thanks” Clarke said sheepishly as she ducked her head slightly

 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Lexa asked quietly

 

“Well I wanted to tell you in person and we didn’t have that much time when I saw you at the gym” Clarke replied “Plus you clearly needed to talk”

 

Lexa shook her head but kissed Clarke without another word. Clarke moved a hand to rest on Lexa’s collarbone just above her chest.

 

Clarke couldn’t properly describe the feeling that was running through her body at that moment.

 

She felt like she was about to freeze but a fire burned in her veins, she felt so calm but felt as if a surge of electricity was pulsing through her body.

 

It was a mystery but at the same time she knew it wasn’t.

 

That was just what Lexa could do to her and she had never felt it before in her life.

 

Their lips danced as Clarke felt Lexa bite down very gently on her bottom lip before running her tongue over the bite to sooth it.

 

As far as Clarke was concerned, it was over all too soon as Lexa ended the kiss but kept their faces close

 

“Sorry” Lexa said with a shy smile

 

“Don’t ever apologize for that” Clarke said with a dazed grin

  
“That’s amazing” Lexa said quietly “We should do something to celebrate this weekend”

 

“We’re having dinner with your parents” Clarke shrugged as she looked at the adorable expression of her girlfriend and sighed “I am so glad I decided I needed to go back to the gym”

 

“So am I” Lexa nodded before kissing Clarke once more before her hands left the blonde’s face “And our celebration is not going to be dinner with my parents”

 

“Why not?” Clarke asked “That will be fun”

 

“You’ll find out tomorrow” Lexa replied “I love my parents but they still think they know what’s best for me”

 

“I’m sure it will be fine” Clarke nodded “What are you doing Monday morning at about 10?”

 

“I have clients all day Monday” Lexa replied “Why’s that?”

 

“I was going to check out my new studio and thought if you were free you could come with but it’s fine” Clarke shrugged

 

“No I’ll be there” Lexa nodded “I’m not going to miss that”

 

“How are you going to manage that?”

 

“Lincoln has owed me ever since we went on that disaster of a camping trip because they were his parents” Lexa said with a shrug “He has a few clients but he’ll be able to take mine over”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I’ll be there” Lexa said with another nod

 

“Thank you” Clarke smiled widely “We should probably eat something before we freeze out here”

 

“My thoughts exactly”

 

\---

 

“Okay so if dinner is becoming too much of a train wreck then I’m going to get Raven to call you and we’re going to pretend there is some kind of family emergency that you have to attend to and need my help” Lexa said as she turned her car off with a sigh

 

“Oh my god, stop being so dramatic” Clarke groaned before pausing “Raven agreed to that?”

“I talked to her about it today after her session” Lexa shrugged

 

“I’ll be talking to her too after dinner” Clarke responded before leaning over to take Lexa’s hand “What are you so scared is going to happen?”

 

“Well you’re probably going to realize what I mean about my parents and I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to distance yourself from me”

 

“It’s going to take a lot more than crazy parents to do that” Clarke said ducking her head slightly to keep Lexa’s low gaze “Stop worrying so much, it will be fine”

 

“Okay” Lexa said with another sigh

 

Lexa leaned over to Clarke’s seat to kiss her for a moment; Clarke felt those butterflies that were ever present around the trainer before they broke the kiss.

 

Clarke took Lexa’s hand supportively and gave it a squeeze as they walked into the restaurant.

 

Clarke’s eyes scanned the room and saw Lexa’s parents straight away.

 

She didn’t need Lexa to confirm because she was such a perfect mixture of them both, even from a distance.

 

“Well there’s no chance you were adopted” Clarke nudged Lexa towards her parents

 

“No there is not” Lexa nodded as they reached the table

 

Lexa’s dad was a pretty sizable guy. He wasn’t overly tall but he was still pretty muscular for a man in his 50’s. His green eyes looked like a direct reflection of Lexa’s and Clarke could tell his hard jaw is where Lexa got it from. It was probably where she learnt to clench her jaw so terrifyingly when she was angry as well.

 

Lexa’s mother on the other hand was a little softer. They shared the same nose, complexion and mouth but looked very good for her age.

 

“Hey Commander” Lexa said with a sheepish smile as she hugged her dad warmly

 

Clarke couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

 

Though Lexa might have been unhappy about dinner, they were her parents after all and she loved them.

 

After Lexa gave her mother a hug she turned back to Clarke with a smile

  
“This is Clarke, Clarke this is the Commander and my mom Julie” Lexa said with a brief nod

 

“It’s nice to meet you Commander” Clarke nodded as she held her hand out for Lexa’s dad to shake

 

He smiled warmly and shook her hand firmly before Clarke extended a hand to Lexa’s mother but was greeted with a hug instead.

 

“We have heard so much about you” The Commander nodded, a smile lingering on his lips

 

“Yet I feel like we know so little” Lexa’s mom shook her head as they all took their seats at the table

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you both as well” Clarke said “It’s great to finally meet you”

 

“You too” The Commander replied “I think our Lexa has been avoiding this meeting”

 

“I have not” Lexa said shaking her head “Dates have just never matched up before and you have never actually requested that you meet Clarke”

 

“Anyway, we’re here now” Julie noted as she picked up her menu “How’s the gym Lexa?”

 

“It’s busy” Lexa nodded “Really busy”

 

“It can’t be that busy though, can it?” The Commander asked “It’s not a stable work environment for you”

  
“Actually it’s busier than it has ever been” Lexa shook her head “And I’m struggling to keep up with how busy it’s getting”

 

“The recruiter is still waiting for your call” The Commander said as he placed his folded hands on the table in front of him “You know that you could get posted where ever you want and you would rise through the ranks so quickly”

 

“I told you that I’m not calling the recruiter” Lexa said simply “And that I didn’t want to talk about it tonight”

 

“I don’t know why you keep passing up this opportunity” The Commander said with a sigh “They want you in the service. You’d be a third generation service woman, you passed all of the testing with flying colours”

 

“I love what I do now” Lexa replied as politely as she could through gritted teeth

 

“Lexa is actually really good at what she does” Clarke said nodding “I go to her gym and it’s run really well. They’re always busy, it’s a great atmosphere and she is really good with her clients. Have you guys been to her gym?”

 

“No actually” Lexa’s mom shook her head

 

“Well you should go” Clarke offered with a small smile as she turned to her girlfriend “Because you’d be really proud to see what she has helped build”

 

“Thank you” Lexa said quietly yet sincerely

 

“What do you do, Clarke?” The Commander asked “Lexa mentioned something about art”

 

“I manage an art gallery but I consider myself more of a freelance artist” Clarke replied

 

“Clarke’s about to sell her art out of her gallery and they’ve just given her a new studio to work out of” Lexa added

 

“Sounds interesting” The Commander nodded with a small smile

 

“What did Costia do again? Real Estate, right?” Lexa’s mom asked

 

An awkward silence fell over the table as Clarke saw Lexa’s jaw tighten for a moment before it relaxed again after several deep breaths.

 

“I don’t think we need to talk about her” Lexa shook her head

 

“No but I just don’t recall and it’ll bug me”

 

“This isn’t appropriate to bring up at any dinner let alone one that Clarke comes to” Lexa said defensively “I don’t want to talk about Costia no more than Clarke wants to hear about it”

 

“It’s okay” Clarke shook her head, placing her hand on Lexa’s leg under the table

 

“No, it’s not” Lexa shook her head

 

“Clarke, can I ask you a question?” The Commander asked

 

“Sure”

 

“Have any of your family members served?”

 

“No sir, I come from a family of doctors” Clarke replied with a small smile “I was like Lexa and kind of broke the chain”

 

“How did your parents take that?” Lexa’s mom asked

 

“They were fine” Clarke shrugged “I did 2 years in med school but I was always an artist at heart so they supported me when I dropped out. I mean it took a while for them to come around but now they support me in whatever I do”

 

“But you at least went to med school” The Commander said looking to his daughter

 

“Dad, stop” Lexa sighed “I wanted to bring Clarke meet you because she is really important to me so if you could please just drop it for one night, I would appreciate it”

 

“With all respect Sir, Lexa is doing a great job as a trainer. More importantly you have raised an outstanding daughter who you should be really proud of” Clarke spoke looking directly at the Commander as she felt Lexa’s hand on her own

 

“I know” The Commander nodded before he looked to Lexa “I like her”

 

\---

 

“Do you understand why I always come home so grumpy after having dinner with them?” Lexa asked as she collapsed onto Clarke’s bed after taking her shoes off

 

“Yeah I do but you know they just want the best for you” Clarke said as she changed her shirt by the end of the bed

 

“I know and I love them for it but I wish they would just let me live how I wanted to”

 

“Hey you have to admit though; I mean for a strict army guy he is pretty cool when it comes to your sexuality”

 

“You are right and that’s fair” Lexa nodded “I actually couldn’t believe how cool they were about it”

 

“And I take it your mom loved Costia?” Clarke asked with a small smile, lying down to rest her head on Lexa’s stomach

 

“I’m so sorry about that” Lexa said as she took a hand to run through Clarke’s hair “I was mortified when she brought her up”

 

“It’s okay” Clarke chuckled

 

“No it’s really not” Lexa shook her head “But you were great with them and I couldn’t ask for anything more”

 

“They weren’t that bad” Clarke shrugged looking up to meet Lexa’s eyes “You didn’t happen to call your landlord, did you?”

 

“Tomorrow” Lexa nodded “I actually should set a reminder”

 

“Don’t call him back” Clarke shook her head to roll over to lay on her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows

 

“Don’t call him back?” Lexa asked raising an eyebrow “I have to”

 

“Then don’t renew the lease”

  
“Why?”

 

“Well I mean the price is going up even though it’s the same apartment” Clarke said shaking her head before she sighed “And I think you should move in here, with me”

 

“You want me to move in with you?” Lexa asked as a smile grew until Clarke saw her rare wide grin “Here?”

 

“Well I mean it’s logical. You spend most of your nights here anyway and I live closer to the gym than you do” Clarke replied with a shrug “It will be cheaper for both of us and we won’t have to sleep alone again”

 

“Are you sure?” Lexa asked scooting down to where Clarke was lying on the bed “I mean you know how stubborn and annoying I can get”

 

“But at least you are neat” Clarke joked as she earned a slap on the shoulder before she sat up on her knees in front of her girlfriend “But seriously, it makes sense. I wanted to ask you anyway and it seems like the perfect time”

 

“If you are sure, I would love to”

  
“So you’re moving in” Clarke smiled

 

“And to think, I got you all because you fell off a treadmill”

 

“There’s a condition that you can’t say that anymore if you move in” Clarke joked before she leaned down to capture Lexa’s lips with her own “You can bring your stuff in and we can make it Lexa friendly”

 

“This makes sense” Lexa said nodding “And it feels right”

 

“I know what you mean” Clarke grinned “You’re stuck with me now”

 

“Happy to be”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you liked that and it was a decent note to end on. 
> 
> I'm thinking of doing a Firefighter AU for the next story where Lexa's a Lieutenant and I'll go from there. I don't have a title yet but keep an eye out for it in the next few days...hopefully :P


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